Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares is condemning his Democratic opponent Jay Jones over newly revealed text messages that, Miyares says, cross a moral line and disqualify Jones from public office — declaring the race is no longer about politics, but “right vs. wrong.”
The messages, sent during Jones’s time as a state delegate, include graphic remarks wishing death upon former House Speaker Todd Gilbert, his wife, and children — comments Miyares calls “unconscionable” and indicative of a dangerous mindset unfit for the state’s top law enforcement role.
On Monday’s edition of The John Fredericks Show, Miyares expressed profound shock and said such language from someone seeking to be the top law enforcement officer in Virginia revealed a “darkness” that “morally disqualifies” Jones from holding public office.
“That is a darkness that I can’t even get my arms around…It tells me that he lacks the maturity for this job. He lacks the experience for this job. He candidly lacks a morality for this job…In [Jones’] opinion, pain is the only way change is made. That shows a darkness that is hard for me to even get around,” Miyares said.
Miyares emphasized that the job of Attorney General is about protecting people from violence — not advocating for it — and that such rhetoric indicates Jones has never sat with crime victims or witnessed the trauma of real violence.
“As the attorney general, you’re the top prosecutor in the state…Jones has never prosecuted a case a day in his life. I certainly can’t imagine when your job is to stop violence, to be running for this job, to be somebody that has advocated for violence, much less advocated for violence against small children. That simply shocks the conscience,” Miyares said.
“Early in my career, I was a prosecutor. I’ve had to sit in on an autopsy of a minor that had died from a gunshot wound to the head. I’ve had to go to crime scenes. When you’re there and you smell death, it sticks with you. You don’t joke about it. You certainly don’t make comments like that, and you certainly don’t advocate for the death of somebody. What it told me as well is he has never done the job that I’ve done. He has never sat with victims. He has never sat and consoled a mother that has lost a child to murder, because there is no cry like the cry of a mother that has lost her child. None. It is a pain that is indescribable,” he added.
Miyares reframed the race for Virginia attorney general as a moral choice, not a political one, saying it is no longer “right vs. left,” but “right vs. wrong.” He invoked the “Virginia Way” of civility in politics, arguing that Jones’s comments violated a fundamental sense of decency and humanity.
“I view this race no longer as a left vs. right race. I view this as right vs. wrong. This is really about what kind of Virginia we want. We talk about the Virginia Way, of having a certain level of civility. This is about whether the Virginia Way is going to survive and what kind of politics we want in our commonwealth,” Miyares said.
Miyares went on to note that Jones’ comments were not made in a moment of anger but were repeated and defended by Jones when initially confronted. In his view, the apology only came after political exposure, not from genuine remorse.
“What makes me the most upset is he was, this was not a random moment of anger. He was called out when it happened…He is apologizing now because he got caught. He’s apologizing now because he’s trying to save his political career because he got called out when it happened and he doubled down on it,” Miyares said.
The Attorney General further criticized top Virginia Democrats, including gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger, for failing to fully repudiate Jones or call for him to step down.
He challenged the idea that someone who made such remarks could ever be accepted into a governor’s cabinet, let alone lead law enforcement statewide.
“Jones has morally disqualified himself, and if Abigail Spanberger really wants to show that she’s independent, that she’s not just a typical Democrat, then she should point that out and say she no longer can campaign or vote for him. Because if he’s not qualified to serve in your cabinet with that language, in that worldview, somebody who says he wants to piss on the graves of his political opponents, then he certainly is not qualified to be Attorney General,” Miyares said.
Miyares ended with a personal appeal, recounting his own family’s journey fleeing political oppression in Cuba. He said that having grown up with stories of a government that literally “puts two bullets in your head for the wrong ideas,” he is especially disturbed by anyone in America advocating violence over political disagreement.
He urged Virginians to reject that path and reaffirm the values of decency, civility, and justice.
“This is the American miracle. This is a miracle that we have, it’s a precious thing. Heaven forbid us elevating people that want to sell our differences by the end of a gun. I can’t even fathom it. That is a specific type of evil, in my opinion,” Miyares said.
“This is now a moral test for us as Virginians…Make sure your voice is not silenced. Your vote is your voice. Make sure it’s heard,” he added.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Virginia Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Jason Miyares” by Jason Miyares.
