Virginia House Speaker Uses Church Pulpit To Double Down On Jay Jones

Virginia State House Speaker Don Scott, a Democrat, took to the pulpit at Mount Calvary Baptist Church on Sunday, where he cautioned members of the congregation not to be “distracted” by apparently insignificant details like text messages in the lead-up to an important election.

The reference was obvious, as Scott’s impassioned speech came just 48 hours after Jay Jones — the Democratic nominee for attorney general in his state — found himself at the center of a text scandal of his own making. In resurfaced messages from 2022, Jones had openly advocated for the assassination of a political opponent — and had said that he’d attend the funerals of Republican lawmakers to “piss on their graves.”

WATCH:

Here is the current Speaker of the House in Virginia, in a church pulpit, telling congregants to ignore Jay Jones’s call for the assassination of the prior Speaker and murder of his kids because…politics. Where is The Bulwark? Where are Dem leaders? pic.twitter.com/titRtnAmIt

— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) October 5, 2025

“So we need to understand something,” he said from the pulpit. “We have to be mature in our thinking and how we vote. We can’t get distracted ’cause they want us to get distracted by the text messages here, or something else — stay focused!”

Critics were not impressed with Scott’s performance and said so.

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“When Speaker Johnson quotes Bible verses or when Senator Rubio shares the gospel, the usual suspects warn of a dangerous new theocracy. But stuff like this happens all the time in leftist churches and it’s crickets,” one posted.

When Speaker Johnson quotes Bible verses or when Senator Rubio shares the gospel, the usual suspects warn of a dangerous new theocracy. But stuff like this happens all the time in progressive churches and it’s crickets. I talk about this in my new book: https://t.co/Y696LDdF8v https://t.co/ENcsHp7OV4

— Daniel Darling (@dandarling) October 5, 2025

“I don’t know what to make of how radical the @vademocrats are. We are a purple-ish state. We have a Republican governor. Our legislature has a lot of Republican members. You can ‘what about Trump’ all day long. I didn’t vote for him over comments that are FAR less disturbing than calling for corrective political violence directed at children. No part of this is okay,” another posted.

I don’t know what to make of how radical the @vademocrats are. We are a purple-ish state. We have a Republican governor. Our legislature has a lot of Republican members. You can “what about Trump” all day long. I didn’t vote for him over comments that are FAR less disturbing than… https://t.co/30DWHFpyGM

— Corie Whalen (@CorieWhalen) October 5, 2025

“Absolutely wild that he calls the messages (and subsequent phone calls) where Jay Jones doubles down on bloodlust ’a distraction.’ Don’t get ‘distracted’ by a guy relishing a mother holding her dead child. ‘Stay focused,’ he says. This is nauseating,” another said.

Absolutely wild that he calls the messages (and subsequent phone calls) where Jay Jones doubles down on bloodlust “a distraction.” Don’t get “distracted” by a guy relishing a mother holding her dead child. “Stay focused,” he says.

This is nauseating. https://t.co/rh35e4l7a0

— Rachel Bovard (@rachelbovard) October 6, 2025

“Don’t get distracted by a Democrat’s stated desire to murder a Republican and his children, he preached from the pulpit,” Guy Benson summed it up.

Don’t get distracted by a Democrat’s stated desire to murder a Republican and his children, he preached from the pulpit https://t.co/OBT1atqMlI

— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) October 5, 2025