Shocking Claim: AG Candidate Jones Allegedly Argued Officer Deaths Would Curb Civilian Shootings

Virginia Democratic AG hopeful accused of saying police deaths might reduce violence — Jones vehemently denies the claim.

Jerrauld “Jay” Jones, the Democratic nominee for Virginia attorney general, is facing resh accusations that during a 2020 conversation he suggested “if a few [police officers] died … they would move on, not shooting people, not killing people.” 

The allegations were made on Monday by Republican Del. Carrie Coyner in an interview with Virginia Scope.

Coyner says the comment came during a debate over repealing qualified immunity for law enforcement officials. She recounted telling Jones that removing legal protections could lead to more police deaths, to which he allegedly replied that those deaths might prompt policy changes. 

“I said, ‘I believe that people will get killed … and he said, ‘Well, maybe if a few of them died … not shooting people, not killing people,’” she told the outlet.

Jones, who as a delegate had backed legislation scaling back qualified immunity, denied the recent claim. “I did not say this. I have never believed and do not believe that any harm should come to law enforcement, period,” he told Virginia Scope.

The timing of these new allegations compounds existing controversy over the 2022 text messages Jones exchanged with Coyner. 

In those messages, Jones threatened violence against then-House Speaker Todd Gilbert and even intimated harm to Gilbert’s children, saying, “Only when people feel pain personally do they move on policy.”

Jones has issued public apologies, but the excerpted texts have drawn bipartisan condemnation. 

Virginia Republicans have seized on the controversy. Gov. Glenn Youngkin demanded Jones drop out of the race. President Trump also weighed in, demanding Jones drop out. Meanwhile, the Virginia Fraternal Order of Police has officially deemed Jones unfit to serve.

Inside the Democratic Party, reactions have been mixed. Some leaders condemn the violence in the texts but stop short of pushing Jones off the ticket. Polls conducted before the revelations showed Jones holding a narrow lead over incumbent Republican AG Jason Miyares.

With early voting underway for the Nov. 4 election, the latest allegations further darken an already volatile race.