Virginia’s already heated Attorney General race took a stunning and deeply unsettling turn this week as Republican Delegate Carrie Coyner accused Democratic nominee Jay Jones of making a shocking and violent statement during a private conversation in 2020 — an allegation that, if true, could further unravel Jones’s embattled campaign.
According to Coyner, the remark came amid a “heated conversation” over legislation to strip qualified immunity from police officers — the legal doctrine that protects law enforcement from civil lawsuits when acting in the line of duty. Coyner claims she warned Jones that removing those protections could lead to more officers being killed in the line of duty. In response, she says, Jones made a remark that left her stunned:
🚨More disgusting, disqualifying comments from Jay Jones.
Jay is running to be Virginia’s “top cop” and apparently thinks it would be a good thing if police officers were killed.
Every minute that Abigail Spanberger, Ghazala Hashmi, Don Scott, and Virginia Democrats delay in… pic.twitter.com/2DLgmerjEI
— Virginia GOP (@VA_GOP) October 6, 2025
“Well, maybe if a few of them died, that they would move on, not shooting people, not killing people,” Jones allegedly said.
Coyner, who served briefly on the House Courts Committee, says the comment was so disturbing she dismissed it as “insane” at the time. She has since publicly confirmed the account and stands by her version of events. The conversation, she says, was a precursor to Jones’s later remarks in a separate, now-infamous 2022 text exchange — remarks that have already sent shockwaves through Virginia politics.
That 2022 incident involved Jones allegedly texting Coyner that he would shoot then-House Speaker Todd Gilbert “two bullets to the head” and expressing twisted satisfaction in the idea of Gilbert’s children dying. The texts, which have been confirmed and publicly acknowledged, led to widespread calls for Jones to withdraw from the race.
Instead of taking accountability for his actions, it appears that my opponent submitted a letter to the Court stating that he performed 500 hours of ‘community service’ for his own PAC, which isn’t a charitable organization under state code, to dodge potential jail time.
This… https://t.co/WoVE8wz9Oq
— Jason Miyares (@JasonMiyaresVA) October 1, 2025
In response, Jones issued an apology, telling 8 News:
“Reading back those words made me sick to my stomach. I am embarrassed, ashamed and sorry.”
He also stated he had reached out to Gilbert and his family directly to offer a personal apology.
But these disturbing revelations now seem to have evolved from one moment of recklessness to a pattern. The alleged 2020 comment — a casual suggestion that some officers should die so others might act differently — is far more than just inflammatory rhetoric. If accurate, it signals a deeply troubling attitude toward law enforcement and public safety.
Jones, for his part, denies ever saying it. In a statement to Virginia Scope, he firmly rejected the claim and reiterated his respect for police officers, stating:
“I have never believed and do not believe that any harm should come to law enforcement, period.”
But his denial is unlikely to put this controversy to rest. Especially not with his documented history of inflammatory language, reckless driving, and what critics have described as politicized community service hours. Add in the timing — just weeks before voters head to the polls — and the cumulative effect is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.
New: Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears statement on Jay Jones texts and Abigail Spanberger:
“It is not enough for Jay Jones to drop out of the race,” said Earle-Sears, “Let me be clear: Spanberger’s continuing support for Jay Jones is also disqualifying her for office. ‘Let… pic.twitter.com/ESbqIr1WMq
— Nick Minock (@NickMinock) October 6, 2025
Already, the Virginia Fraternal Order of Police has called for Jones to drop out of the race. Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin has echoed that demand, calling the rhetoric “beyond disqualifying.”
Jones’s campaign has not issued additional comments on the 2020 allegation. But the voters of Virginia — and the law enforcement officers they trust to protect their communities — will no doubt be listening closely in the coming days.
If the allegations are accurate, what began as a candid apology for one lapse in judgment may now be overshadowed by a far more enduring concern: a pattern of behavior that’s simply incompatible with the duties of the commonwealth’s top law enforcement official.
