Virginia attorney general-candidate Jay Jones has continued to tout his gun-control accomplishments while trying to recover from scandal, leaving some in the firearms industry baffled.
Jones, who texted a Republican lawmaker in 2022 that he’d use two bullets on a political rival and leave Adolf Hitler and Pol Pot alive, claims on his campaign site that while working at the D.C. Attorney General’s Office, he “took on the gun lobby to keep families safe.”
At a recent debate, he referred to the $4 million judgment former D.C. AG Karl Racine won against a “ghost gun” manufacturer in a lawsuit filed two years before Jones ever joined the office.
“I took on the largest ghost gun manufacturer in this country, and we brought them to their knees and put them out of business,” he said.
Court records show other assistant AGs signed the briefs in that case, with Jones, a member of the Virginia House of Delegates until January 2022, only appearing for an April 2022 hearing.
“Interestingly, the firearm industry wasn’t aware of Jay Jones or the depth of his particular animus against citizens lawfully exercising their Second Amendment rights until it became public that he threatened the very-targeted ‘gun violence’ against a fellow lawmaker for holding opposing views that he supposedly wants to prevent,” Mark Oliva, the managing director of public affairs for the National Shooting Sports Foundation, told Legal Newsline. The NSSF is the trade association of the firearms industry.
In a 2022 text message exchange with Republican state Del. Carrie Coyner reported by The National Review, Jones complained how then-Republican House Speaker Todd Gilbert was honoring Joe Johnson Jr., a moderate Democratic lawmaker who had died.
“Three people, two bullets. Gilbert, hitler, and pol pot. Gilbert gets two bullets to the head,” the text reads, referring to Gilbert and the two dictators. The National Review also reported Jones tried to call Coyner after she had objected to the message and went on to text that Gilbert and his wife were “breeding little fascists.”
The report spurred extra spending by current Attorney General Jason Miyares, a Republican who has called on Jones to stop his campaign. Miyares wrote an open letter to Virginians that read: “If you believe it is okay to wish death upon a political opponent – vote for my opponent.”
Still, Democrats continue to support Jones’ run while he delivers their gun-control message. The D.C. case involved Polymer80, which sold gun kits and parts without serial numbers. A D.C. Superior Court granted summary judgment to AG Racine in August 2022, and the company was out of business two years later.
“We’ve learned that Jones was involved with harassing lawsuits against certain firearm industry members while working for the Washington, D.C., Attorney General’s Office,” Oliva said.
“However, it appears his involvement was unremarkable. The irony of it all is Jones never appeared to be out-of-step with the anti-gun policies by his political party until his threats of murder were exposed. And his party has yet to rebuke his vile remarks.”
Jones has announced his own gun-safety initiative and still has the support of some groups, though Everytown for Gun Safety removed a press release endorsing him after the report broke. He accused Miyares and the National Rifle Association of wanting to “flood” communities with guns.
In 2022, Jones was charged with reckless driving after getting caught doing 116 mph on I-64. State law enforcement groups are backing Miyares and have called on Jones to withdraw from the race.
“The men and women of law enforcement work tirelessly to combat the violence you wished on a fellow Virginian and his family,” the Fraternal Order of Police of Virginia wrote earlier this month.
Since 1994, Virginia has elected just one Democrat as attorney general – Mark Herring, who served from 2014-2022. Election Day is Nov. 4.
