{"id":2495753,"date":"2025-10-07T15:49:02","date_gmt":"2025-10-07T19:49:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/senate-dems-refuse-to-call-jones-to-drop-out-for-violent-texts\/"},"modified":"2025-10-07T15:50:59","modified_gmt":"2025-10-07T19:50:59","slug":"senate-dems-refuse-to-call-jones-to-drop-out-for-violent-texts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/senate-dems-refuse-to-call-jones-to-drop-out-for-violent-texts\/","title":{"rendered":"Senate Dems Refuse to Call Jones To Drop Out For Violent Texts"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fsenate-dems-refuse-to-call-jones-to-drop-out-for-violent-texts%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2495753&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article reports that no Democratic U.S. Senator has called for Virginia Democrat <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >attorney general<\/a> candidate jay Jones to withdraw from the race after revelations that he sent text messages in 2022 fantasizing about assassinating Republican Todd Gilbert. jones reportedly made violent and disturbing remarks, including hypothetical comments about shooting Gilbert alongside ancient dictators and wishing harm upon Gilbert&#8217;s family. Despite inquiries from the Federalist, most Senate Democrats have condemned Jones&#8217;s remarks as inappropriate or appalling but stopped short of demanding he drop out. senator Tim Kaine criticized the comments yet left the decision to Virginia voters. Other Democrats,including gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger and party committees,have expressed criticism but continue to support Jones. In contrast, Republican figures, including Winsome Earle-Sears, Donald Trump, J.D. Vance, and Governor Glenn Youngkin, have called for Jones to withdraw, labeling his comments disqualifying. Jones has issued statements expressing regret and apologizing, but the controversy continues to stir debate over political accountability and violence in political discourse.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=S7fDWWg2wVo\">JAY JONES\/YOUTUBE<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/10\/07\/every-senate-democrat-stands-by-jay-jones-after-he-fantasized-about-assassinating-republican\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Every%20Senate%20Democrat%20Stands%20By%20Jay%20Jones%20After%20He%20Fantasized%20About%20Assassinating%20Republican&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/10\/07\/every-senate-democrat-stands-by-jay-jones-after-he-fantasized-about-assassinating-republican\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=Every%20Senate%20Democrat%20Stands%20By%20Jay%20Jones%20After%20He%20Fantasized%20About%20Assassinating%20Republican&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/10\/07\/every-senate-democrat-stands-by-jay-jones-after-he-fantasized-about-assassinating-republican\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\" https:><\/path><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/10\/07\/every-senate-democrat-stands-by-jay-jones-after-he-fantasized-about-assassinating-republican\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=Every%20Senate%20Democrat%20Stands%20By%20Jay%20Jones%20After%20He%20Fantasized%20About%20Assassinating%20Republican&amp;body=%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/10\/07\/every-senate-democrat-stands-by-jay-jones-after-he-fantasized-about-assassinating-republican\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &amp; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>In response to a Federalist inquiry,&nbsp;not a single Democrat U.S. Senator called for the Virginia Democrat attorney&nbsp;general candidate Jay Jones to drop out of the race in light of his text messages fantasizing about assassinating Republican Todd Gilbert.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Put Gilbert in the crew with the two worst people you know and he receives both bullets every time,&rdquo; Jones&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/DelegateHiggins\/status\/1974185024108077554?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1974185024108077554%7Ctwgr%5Efca7ede05bd5305fbe970ff70d3b9061fe1aecf0%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fthefederalist.com%2F2025%2F10%2F03%2Fvirginia-dem-ag-candidate-fantasized-about-assassinating-republican-wished-death-on-his-kids%2F\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">wrote<\/a>, after running a hypothetical about how to allocate two bullets among Gilbert, Hitler, and Pol Pot. The 2022 text messages were first&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/JCxeX#selection-927.39-927.168\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a>&nbsp;by National Review on Friday.&nbsp;According to a source cited by the outlet, Jones also &ldquo;suggested he wished Gilbert&rsquo;s wife could watch her own child die in her arms so that Gilbert might reconsider his political views&rdquo; in a follow-up phone call with a Republican state lawmaker.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-599643443\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Federalist reached out to each Senate Democrat, asking if they would call for Jones to drop out of the race in light of his violent comments.<\/p>\n<p>Only Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., addressed The Federalist&rsquo;s inquiry. Though Kaine criticized Jones&rsquo; remarks, he also&nbsp;refused to call for him to drop out. &ldquo;There is nothing that can justify these indefensible words, and they are contrary to all I&rsquo;ve known about Jay Jones for decades,&rdquo; Kaine said. &ldquo;With hundreds of thousands of Virginians already having voted, it&rsquo;s up to Virginians to decide.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>(The Federalist also received an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/psaki-goes-offline-for-a-week-as-crisis-breaks-out-in-afghanistan\/\" title=\"Psaki Goes Offline For A Week As Crisis Breaks Out In Afghanistan\">automatic reply email<\/a> from Hawaii Sen. Mazie Hirono&rsquo;s office stating that most messages sent there would not receive a reply during the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/top-democratic-senator-comes-out-against-bidens-vaccine-mandate-supports-legislation-to-overturn\/\" title=\"Top ... ... Comes Out Against Biden\u2019s Vaccine Mandate, Supports Legislation To Overturn\">federal government shutdown<\/a>, and that the staff member would reply once normal operations resume.)<\/p>\n<p>Other state and U.S. Democrat senators of Virginia have released statements similar to Kaine&rsquo;s, stopping short of calling on Jones to drop out.<\/p>\n<p>Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va.,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/virginiamercury.com\/2025\/10\/05\/beyond-disqualifying-jay-jones-controversy-jolts-virginias-pivotal-2025-elections\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reportedly<\/a>&nbsp;described Jones&rsquo; comments as &ldquo;appalling&rdquo; and &ldquo;inconsistent with the person I&rsquo;ve known.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Virginia State Sen. Scott Surovell wrote in a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ssurovell\/status\/1974550872920318298\/photo\/1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">statement<\/a>&nbsp;that &ldquo;fantasizing about shooting a legislative colleague &mdash; even in a hypothetical scenario &mdash; represents a serious lapse in judgment that cannot be defended,&rdquo; and that Jones &ldquo;owes Virginians, his former colleagues, and particularly the Gilbert family a full and unconditional apology for these <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dem-houston-mayoral-appointee-princeton-fellow-slams-girls-killed-in-texas-flood-for-going-to-white-only-camp\/\" title=\"Dem Houston Mayoral Appointee, Princeton Fellow, Slams Girls Killed in Texas Flood for Going to &#039;White Only&#039; Camp\">deeply inappropriate comments<\/a>.&rdquo; However, Sen. Surovell stopped short of calling for Jones to drop out.<\/p>\n<p>Others, including Abigail&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/gmoomaw\/status\/1974199164117659856\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Spanberger<\/a>, the Democrat candidate for Virginia governor, have criticized Jones&rsquo; violent statements, again without pulling their support.&nbsp;Meanwhile,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/10\/06\/dems-wont-yank-endorsements-for-va-candidate-who-fantasized-about-assassination\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">multiple Democrat party committees<\/a> stood by Jones, with the Virginia Beach Democratic Committee <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vbdemocrats.org\/past-events\/nq3gjlr1kkzxwqllr9cyjzu60v9s8o\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">statement<\/a> saying that it &ldquo;reaffirms its full support of Jay Jones for Attorney General.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Jones&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Jaaavis\/status\/1974164932670419185\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reportedly<\/a> issued a&nbsp;statement&nbsp;after the text messages were exposed, indicating he had sent texts&nbsp;he &ldquo;regret[s].&rdquo; However, in this initial statement, he did not apologize to Gilbert or his family and, after noting that &ldquo;violent rhetoric has no place in our politics,&rdquo; went on to smear Republicans for attacking his &ldquo;character.&rdquo; He later issued another statement following backlash in which he claimed to &ldquo;take full responsibility&nbsp;for my actions&rdquo; and apologized, as <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/10\/03\/virginia-dem-ag-candidate-fantasized-about-assassinating-republican-wished-death-on-his-kids\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a> by The Federalist.<\/p>\n<p>Virginia Republican gubernatorial candidate Winsome Earle-Sears&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/winwithwinsome\/status\/1974199752507208188\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" target=\"_blank\">called&nbsp;<\/a>Jones&rsquo; 2022 comments about Gilbert &ldquo;wholly disqualifying of someone running for an office that protects the people of Virginia.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Likewise, President&nbsp;Donald <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/dc-md-va\/2025\/10\/06\/trump-republicans-pressure-jay-jones-withdraw\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Trump<\/a>, Vice President&nbsp;J.D. <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/JDVance\/status\/1974549343744205204\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Vance,&nbsp;<\/a>and&nbsp;others&nbsp;have called for Jones to drop out of the race, and Gov. Glen Youngkin, R-Va.,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/GlennYoungkin\/status\/1974462346874519709\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said&nbsp;<\/a>Jones&rsquo; remarks are &ldquo;beyond disqualifying.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Even the pundits on far-left MSNBC&rsquo;s <em>Morning Joe <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/WesternLensman\/status\/1975201593038619061\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">stated<\/a>, &ldquo;The pressure is going to be&nbsp;on Spanberger&rdquo; and the Democratic Party to ask Jones &ldquo;to just quit the race.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This guy should do everyone a favor &hellip; and step out of the race.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Catherine Gripp is a graduate of Arizona Christian University where she earned a degree in communication and a minor in political science. She writes for The Federalist as a reporting intern.<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Catherine Gripp<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/catherinegripp\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/abigail-spanberger\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Abigail Spanberger<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/democrats\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Democrats<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Donald Trump<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/jay-jones\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Jay Jones<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/mark-warner\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Mark Warner<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/msnbc\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">MSNBC<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/political-violence\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">political violence<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/senate-democrats\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Senate Democrats<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/tim-kaine\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Tim Kaine<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/virginia-elections\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">virginia elections<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>No Democrat senators urged Jay Jones to quit after violent texts<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4001,"featured_media":2495754,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/jay-jones.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[64772,36160,33619,64773],"class_list":["post-2495753","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-doug-jones","tag-political-controversy","tag-senate-democrats","tag-violent-texts"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/jay-jones.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2495753","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4001"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2495753"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2495753\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2495757,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2495753\/revisions\/2495757"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2495754"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2495753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2495753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2495753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}