Students react amidst recent political violence
Virginia State Delegate Jay Jones, the Democratic nominee in Virginia’s attorney general race, is facing backlash following the leak of numerous violent texts between Jones and fellow delegate Carrie Coyner from 2022.
In the messages, Jones commented on his relationship with Todd Gilbert, then the Virginia Speaker of the House. Jones remarked that if he was in a room with Gilbert, Hitler, and Cambodian communist dictator Pol Pot, Speaker Gilbert “gets two bullets to the head.”
Coyner, a Republican, responded to the texts with, “Jay, please stop.” She later told the National Review,“What [Jones] said was not just disturbing but disqualifying for anyone who wants to seek public office.” The Review further reported that Jones described wanting Gilbert’s children to die, saying, “Only when people feel pain personally do they move on policy.”
Coyner, in an interview with Axios in October, stated that during a phone call, Jones had told her, “If a few police officers died, maybe they would stop killing people.”
The scandal comes amidst a rising tide of political violence across the country, including a shooting targeting a Catholic school in Minnesota by a transsexual, attacks on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, and the assassination of Charlie Kirk in September.
Jones’s tenure in the Virginia Assembly has been marred by controversy. In October, a special prosecutor was appointed to investigate Jones for violating a 2022 court order. Following a reckless driving conviction for driving over double the speed limit, Jones violated the terms of his plea agreement when he performed 500 of his 1,000 court-ordered community service hours for his own political action committee.
Jones identifies as Catholic, despite stating that he was “proud to expand abortion rights in the Virginia Legislature.”
According to recent polling, Jones is in a statistical dead heat with Republican incumbent Jason Miyares in the race for Attorney General, with a marginal lead. Other Virginia Democrats comfortably lead the races for both Governor and Lieutenant Governor.
Reactions to Jones’s remarks have been polarized across partisan lines. President Trump posted on Truth Social that Jones’ remarks were “demented,” saying, “Democrat Jay Jones must drop out of the race, immediately.” Vice President J.D. Vance, posting on X, said, “The Democrat candidate for AG in Virginia has been fantasizing about murdering his political opponents,” adding, “I’m sure the people hyperventilating about sombrero memes will join me in calling for this very deranged person to drop out of the race.”
On the other hand, House Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries stood by Jones, telling The Hill, “The attorney general candidate has appropriately apologized for his remarks.”
Similarly, Democratic New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, who endorsed Jones in June, has not commented on Jones’ remarks nor withdrawn his endorsement. Democratic Virginia Senator Tim Kaine, who described the texts as “contrary to all I’ve known about Jay Jones for decades,” has yet to call for his withdrawal from the race, saying, “It’s up to Virginians to decide.” Democratic Virginia gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger, who endorsed Jones, also did not rescind her endorsement. Former President Barack Obama headlined a rally with Spanberger, Jones, and other statewide Democratic candidates on November 1 in Norfolk, Virginia.
When asked by the Rover if Jones’ remarks on wishing death on his colleague’s children represent the Democratic Party, Alex Young, president of Notre Dame College Democrats, took a harder tone than Jeffries. “One statewide candidate’s past comments do not represent the College Democrats Club at Notre Dame or Democrats nationwide,” Young said. “We condemn those messages. It should go without saying that violent rhetoric has no place in American politics.”
Young’s statement, much like those of other Democratic leaders, stopped short of calling for Jones to withdraw from the race.
During the recent debate between the College Democrats and College Republicans, the Republican debaters directly discussed the issue, saying, “[The Democrats] can talk about how they love dialogue all they want, but unless they’re willing to sacrifice a little bit of political convenience for this cause, then they don’t believe in it at all.” Later, the Republicans challenged the Democrats to withdraw their support of Jones. The College Democrats did not directly respond to the Republicans’ comments.
Meanwhile, sentiment among students on Notre Dame’s campus nearly unanimously condemned Jones. Sophomore Patrick Boyd told the Rover, “Jones’ comments aren’t at all productive for healthy dialogue. I just don’t think anyone should say that, ever. That’s not cool to joke about, and it’s unproductive.”
Quinn Reilly, a sophomore from Charlottesville, Virginia, agreed with Boyd. He told the Rover, “There’s no way that kind of language could ever be a good thing. I’m surprised he’s still running.”
Edmund Nolan, a freshman from Richmond, Virginia, appreciated bipartisan condemnation of Jones comments, telling the Rover, “I think it’s super refreshing to see that both parties have condemned this in some way. It lessens the partisan divide a bit just to see some common ground.” Evaluating Jones directly, Nolan was optimistic, saying, “I just hope people see what he’s done and vote against him democratically.”
Sam Marchand is a junior studying political science and finance from Beaumont, Texas. He squanders much of his spare time by reading the Current Events section of Wikipedia preparing arguments for ND Speech & Debate, of which he serves as head yapper. He can be reached in Rome or the Baltic states this fall at smarcha3@nd.edu.
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons
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