Democratic Virginia Attorney General candidate Jay Jones made a strange gesture at a dog that raised eyebrows among voters on Tuesday.
In footage taken by Klarke Kilgore, a former staffer for Republican Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, Jones lifted his right leg and moved it toward the dog as it walked away right outside of a polling location on Election Day. Many social media users speculated that he attempted to kick the dog.
The embattled candidate has faced scrutiny since leaked text messages from August 2022 showed him fantasizing about putting “two bullets” into former Republican Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert’s head and witnessing Gilbert’s children die in their mother’s arms. Jones initially stood by his comments in a phone call with delegate Carrie Coyner, whom he sent the texts to, stating that policymakers like Gilbert only make changes on issues like gun policy when tragedies happen to them personally.
Jones issued an apology on Oct. 5, saying the messages made him “sick to [his] stomach.”
Most Democrats have refused to call on Jones to drop out or have continued to support his candidacy. Virginia gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger called the text messages “abhorrent,” but refused to withdraw her endorsement for Jones. Democratic Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine said that he would continue to support Jones after knowing him for 25 years, while former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told CNN that Jones is “a better person to be attorney general.”
Miyares, the incumbent running for reelection, has repeatedly stated that Jones has proven himself unworthy to serve as the top prosecutor in Virginia. Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin called on Jones to drop out and called his statements “beyond disqualifying.”
Jones is currently under criminal investigation for allegedly misrepresenting details regarding community service to a New Kent County court. The attorney general hopeful was convicted in 2022 of reckless driving in New Kent County after being stopped for driving 116 mph in a 70 mph zone. He was ordered to pay a $1,500 fine and conduct 1,000 hours of community service.
Jones claimed to have completed 500 of those hours for his own political action committee, Meet Our Moment (MOM) and logged the remaining 500 hours for the NAACP Virginia State Conference.
Miyares called on Jones to drop out in an Oct. 22 statement, stating Jones cannot “fulfill his duties” while under criminal investigation.
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