Virginia AG candidate Jay Jones said if more cops got killed, they wouldn’t shoot so many people, lawmaker claims

Virginia’s Democratic attorney general candidate Jay Jones chillingly suggested that if more cops got killed after being stripped of legal protection, they would shoot fewer people, according new claims from an ex-colleague in the state legislature.

Jones, a former Democrat representative in Virginia’s House of Delegates, is already facing calls to drop out after Republican Del. Carrie Coyner revealed 2022 text exchanges between them in which he suggested he would shoot then-House Speaker Todd Gilbert over Adolf Hitler, and said Gilbert and his wife should have to watch his “fascist” children die.

Coyner has come forward with new allegations against Jones, telling the Virginia Scope Monday that during a 2020 conversation about qualified immunity, she told Jones that without the legal protection, police officers would get killed.

“Well, maybe if a few of them died, that they would move on, not shooting people, not killing people,” Jones responded according to Coyner.

Jones previously supported bills to remove qualified immunity while he was still a member of the House of Delegates.

Coyner doubled down in a statement to The Post and asserted that Jones is unfit for office.

“My position is very clear. It is never acceptable to think that killing people is a justifiable method to achieve policy changes. Period. Anyone that advocates for killing someone for disagreeing with them is not qualified to serve,” Coyner said.

Jones denied Coyner’s new allegations.

“I did not say this. I have never believed and do not believe that any harm should come to law enforcement, period. Every single day, police officers put their lives on the line to protect our communities, and I am deeply grateful for their service and sacrifice. As Attorney General, I will work hand-in-hand with law enforcement to support their work,” Jones told Virginia Scope.

The Post reached out to Jones for comment.

Coyner told the outlet that Jones pointed back to his stance on police and removing immunity protections during a heated phone call in 2022 where he said Gilbert might change his staunch pro-gun stance if he or his wife lost one of their children.

After their call ended, Coyner followed up with texts to condemn his flippant suggestion.

“You were talking about [hoping] Jennifer Gilbert’s children would die,” Coyner wrote to him.

Jones responded: “Yes, I’ve told you this before. Only when people feel pain personally do they move on policy.”

The controversial AG nominee is currently duking it out against conservative incumbent Jason Miyares. Even amidst the scandal, it’s still neck-and-neck, according to recent polls.

Virginia’s Democrats appear to be closing ranks around Jones — with no high level elected Dems in the commonwealth calling for him to drop out. The Virginia Beach Democrats group challenged “those without sin to cast the first stone” as criticism mounted against Jones.

“Jay Jones has taken responsibility, apologized, and shown he is committed to serving with integrity and accountability that his public record already shows. Virginians deserve a leader who learns, grows, and stands for everyday people—and Jay is that leader,” the group wrote in a statement.

In 2021, roughly 53% of voters in Virginia Beach cast a ballot for Miyares in the attorney general race, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who endorsed Miyares last November, said that Jones’ messages were “beyond disqualifying” and slammed him for not having “the morality or character” to drop out on his own accord.