Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin said Democrats who continue to back attorney general candidate Jay Jones are being “complicit” in Jones’ alleged calls to kill police officers and wishing death upon a political rival and their children.
On Tuesday’s edition of The John Fredericks Show, Youngkin said Jones’s purported remarks — including that some officers should “die” and wishing death upon former House Speaker Todd Gilbert and his young children — go far beyond ordinary political disagreement, calling them “atrocious,” “potentially criminal,” and clear evidence that Jones is “unfit for office.”
“Jay Jones is not only unfit for the job, but he needs to step down in disgrace,” Youngkin said.
“It literally shocks the conscience that [Jones] could even put his name on a ballot. Again, let’s just be clear. He’s running for Attorney General. He is running for the job of being the top cop, the top prosecutor, the protector of the people. And he is saying that two bullets in a guy’s head is what he wants. A man’s two and 5-year-old children should die. And now, he said that a few cops must die in order to get through his twisted policy that he’s going to strip away their qualified immunity,” he added.
The governor made it clear that he sees this as a test of basic morality, not just politics, and that continued support for Jones equates to an endorsement of extremism and a complete failure of moral leadership.
“This isn’t a Republican or Democrat thing. This is a Virginian thing. What do we believe? Where’s our moral compass? This is where we have to stand together and demonstrate that we are so much bigger and better than this. We have to make a statement that we are not going to allow anyone to advocate for political violence, for murdering children, for law enforcement officers and heroes being killed,” Youngkin said.
Youngkin went on to accuse Democratic leaders—including gubernatorial nominee Abigail Spanberger—of being complicit in Jones’s behavior by refusing to demand his removal from the race.
“This is not an ‘I’m sorry’ moment. This is not an ‘Oh, I shouldn’t have said that’ moment. This is atrocious. This is un-American, and by the way, this is potentially criminal. And therefore, he needs to drop out of the race. Anything short of that is complicit,” Youngkin said.
Youngkin went on to single out Spanberger for hypocrisy, pointing out that she once called for Governor Northam’s resignation within 24 hours of his blackface scandal but has remained largely silent about Jones, issuing only a vague statement about “accountability.”
According to Youngkin, if Spanberger truly believed in consequences, she would call for Jones to drop out in disgrace.
“Here we have a guy who has, first, said that two bullets need to go in Todd Gilbert’s head, his children should die, and now officers should die, and Spanberger has said nothing about him resigning, nothing about him stepping out of this race in disgrace,” Youngkin said.
“That’s the hypocrisy of this ticket, and that’s why Virginians must know that the future leadership of this commonwealth has to be of character. It has to have a moral compass that will react appropriately when we’re faced with crisis. They are all demonstrating they don’t have a moral compass, they have no courage, and therefore, we must go vote today and make sure that Winsome Earle-Sears, John Reid, and Jason Miyares are leading the Commonwealth of Virginia,” Youngkin added.
The governor went on to frame the election as a clear moral and practical crossroads for Virginia, arguing that “elections have consequences” and that the commonwealth’s future is at stake if voters reward a ticket he says embraces dangerous policies and tolerates violent rhetoric.
“This is why elections have consequences. It’s why I have been such a strong advocate for the strength of our ticket, and I will tell you that Virginians just need to recognize that the future of the Commonwealth is at stake,” Youngkin said.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Virginia Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Gov Glenn Youngkin” by Gov. Glenn Younkin.
