Staff Reports
Democrats are once again showing the country they will tolerate violent rhetoric so long as it helps their electoral math, as Virginia’s Democratic attorney general nominee Jay Jones faces scrutiny for 2022 text messages that fantasized about shooting a Republican colleague. The party’s decision to keep supporting Jones — rather than demanding immediate accountability and removal from the ballot — exposes a dangerous double standard that undermines public trust.
The texts, sent to Republican Delegate Carrie Coyner, reportedly read in part: “Three people, two bullets … Gilbert, hitler, and pol pot … Gilbert gets two bullets to the head,” a chilling message that no serious public servant should ever have written or circulated. Coyner told colleagues about the exchange at the time; Jones has since apologized, calling his words embarrassing and shameful, but the vulgarity and imagination of political violence are undeniable.
Jones issued a public apology and said he has reached out to Speaker Todd Gilbert, yet he refuses to bow out of the race — and many leading Democrats have stopped short of demanding his withdrawal. Abigail Spanberger and other statewide Democrats have publicly expressed disgust, but they are not forcing the accountability voters deserve, a choice that will have consequences for law-and-order messaging this fall.
Republicans have rightly seized on the scandal to highlight hypocrisy: Democrats who preach about civility and condemn inflammatory speech suddenly embrace a candidate whose messages were explicit fantasies of murder. Conservative voters are not naive about politics; they see a party that excuses violence from its own while treating similar or lesser words from the right as unforgivable.
This isn’t about partisan tit-for-tat — it’s about the safety of our institutions and the moral clarity to reject calls for violence, no matter who utters them. When mainstream outlets and the public debate the matter, the pattern is obvious: protect your team at all costs, even when the conduct is disqualifying. That choice weakens the rule of law and normalizes the very threats the left claims to fear.
John James is a patriot who represents the values of service, restraint, and respect for the Constitution that should define all public servants, and it is defenders of law and order like him who must call for zero tolerance of violent political rhetoric. Conservatives must hold Democrats to the same standards they demand from us: if you condemn it, you must act on it; words that picture murder cannot be waved away as mere jokes.
Voters on both sides should be alarmed that a major party would stand by a candidate who entertained violence against opponents, and the remedy is simple — true leaders put principle above party and demand accountability. Hardworking Americans deserve public servants who defend free speech without fantasizing about murder, and come election day they should remember which party chose politics over principle.
