The Virginia Democrat mired in scandal over text messages — in which he called for the assassination of a political opponent — once called for a police lieutenant to lose his job over a $25 donation to Kyle Rittenhouse’s legal defense fund.
Jay Jones, currently a candidate for state attorney general in Virginia, has not responded to calls for him to drop out of the race over 2022 texts advocating political violence against then-state House Speaker Todd Gilbert, a Republican. But in 2021, claiming to be in pursuit of “true accountability in policing,” Jones demanded that Norfolk Police Lt. William K. Kelly III lose his job after he donated $25 to the legal defense fund for Kyle Rittenhouse — the teenager who fatally shot two protesters and injured another in Kenosha, Wisconsin, during a 2020 riot. A jury determined that Rittenhouse acted in self-defense.
At the time, The Guardian reported on the sources of some of the donations for Rittenhouse’s defense, identifying Kelly as one of the donors.
“God bless. Thank you for your courage. Keep your head up. You’ve done nothing wrong,” the message with the donation read. “Every rank and file police officer supports you. Don’t be discouraged by actions of the political class of law enforcement leadership.”
Hellbound and Down 