Overview

• National Review published screenshots of August 2022 texts, and Republican Del. Carrie Coyner confirmed receiving messages in which Jones wrote, “Gilbert gets two bullets to the head” and talked about urinating on colleagues’ graves.
• Jones issued a statement saying he has sent messages he regrets and argued his opponent, Attorney General Jason Miyares, was pushing the story through partisan media.
• Democratic gubernatorial nominee Abigail Spanberger said she told Jones she was disgusted by the messages and condemned violent language, while Republican groups including RAGA urged Jones to withdraw.
• Coyner says Jones later doubled down by phone, asserting policymakers only change when they feel pain and allegedly invoking harm to Todd Gilbert’s family, a claim reported with attribution to Coyner.
• Separate reporting recirculated Jones’s 2022 reckless-driving conviction after he was clocked at 116 mph, with new scrutiny on community-service hours tied to his own PAC noted in Richmond Times-Dispatch coverage.