Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares told Newsmax on Monday that he was "floored" by Democrat attorney general candidate Jay Jones' text messages targeting a former Republican lawmaker, calling them disqualifying for anyone seeking to serve as the state's top law enforcement officer.
On "Rob Schmitt Tonight," Miyares said the messages — in which Jones said he wanted to put "two bullets" in the head of then-House Speaker Todd Gilbert, a Republican — reflect a dangerous mindset.
"Well, I mean, I was floored by it," Miyares said. "As the attorney general of Virginia, you're supposed to be the top prosecutor. You're the one trying to stop violence. And he's running for this job as somebody who's advocated for violence."
Miyares said that Jones' outburst began after some Republican lawmakers attended the funeral of a Democrat colleague and offered eulogies in his honor.
"What set him on this course is he was upset that some Republican legislators had attended the funeral and said nice eulogies on behalf of a Democratic legislator," Miyares said. "And that's when he really went on this rant."
The attorney general described Jones' comments in detail.
"He said that he would piss on the grave of his political opponent, said he'd want to put two bullets in the head of Todd Gilbert," Miyares said.
When colleagues confronted Jones about the rhetoric, Miyares said, Jones didn't back down; he escalated.
"He was called out at the time by this colleague saying, this is not how you talk about somebody you work with and serve with," Miyares said. "And that's when he doubled down."
Miyares said he finds the episode difficult to understand.
"I can't imagine the mindset that you're coming from where you would say this about someone," he said. "It's just really hard for me to even get my arms around it."
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