Liberal MSNBC panelist calls for Virginia AG candidate to drop out over violent text messages

An MSNBC "Morning Joe" panelist called for Democratic Virginia attorney general candidate Jay Jones to drop out of the race after his text messages resurfaced showing he called for the shooting of a GOP lawmaker.

Co-host Mika Brzezinski noted that Republicans and Democrats were criticizing the messages and said they were "horrible." She added, "I didn't want to read them out loud."

Jones came under fire over the last few days after an August 2022 text conversation between Jones and Virginia state Del. Carrie Coyner, R-Chester, resurfaced on Friday. In the text messages, Jones repeatedly wished for the violent death of then-GOP state House leader Todd Gilbert. In another, Jones questioned whether Gilbert and his wife were "breeding little fascists." A source familiar with the situation told Fox News Digital that, around that point, Jones and Coyner had a telephone conversation where he reportedly wished for the deaths of Gilbert's children.

"I would say, you know, not to be too much on the high horse. It's wildly inappropriate under any circumstances. Today, tomorrow, 10 years ago, six months ago, I think the pressure is going to be on [Abigail] Spanberger to, and for the whole of the party, to ask this candidate to just quit the race. Because just both, it's the right thing. And also the political splashback, you don't want to mess with this right now," liberal panelist John Heilemann said.

Brzezinksi added, "Who says that?"

"This guy should do everyone a favor and step out of that race," Heilemann added. 

"Three people, two bullets. Gilbert, Hitler and Pol Pot. Gilbert gets two bullets to the head," Jones wrote in the messages. 

Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger condemned the messages, but she stopped short of calling for him to end his campaign.

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"I will always condemn violent language in our politics," Spanberger said, adding that she had spoken "frankly" with him after the texts surfaced.

Former Biden aide Neera Tanden condemned Jones' violent texts but added that they were part of a "private conversation," during NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday.

"I absolutely think that people should criticize that, 100%," Tanden said. "I think it was a private conversation he had, but still awful and disgusting. It should be condemned." 

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She continued, "But then, we should condemn that, but then you should condemn when the president called the Democratic Party the party of Satan."

Jones has apologized for the texts, saying in a statement that he is deeply ashamed of what he wrote.

Fox News' Charles Creitz and Lindsay Kornick contributed to this report.