Knudsen Joins GOP Attorneys General Urging Ban on Virginia AG Who Fantasized About Murder

HELENA — Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen sent a letter to the executive directors of the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) and Attorney General Alliance (AGA) asking them to deny membership to Virginia Attorney General-elect Jay Jones following “abhorrent” text messages Jones sent in 2022 wishing the death of his political opponent and his opponent’s children.

The letter comes as Knudsen was recently elected^1 to chair the Republican Attorneys General Association ahead of what the group called the “largest election cycle” in its history.

In 2022, Jones sent a series of text messages to a Virginia delegate containing explicit fantasies of violence, including where Jones envisioned “two bullets to the head” of a political opponent and expressed his desire to see his opponent’s children die so that they could “feel pain personally.” In another text, Jones expressed his desire to attend his opponent’s funeral “to piss on their graves.” Jones also described his opponents as “evil” people who “breed little fascists.”

The same delegate who received the text messages recalled a 2020 phone call in which Jones said if a few police officers died, then maybe they would stop killing people, according to the letter.

While Jones has issued an apology, Knudsen’s letter states it “fails to convey genuine contrition” and that Jones “does not fully acknowledge the danger posed by his words, nor the profound breach of public trust they represent.”

“The messages demonstrate recklessness and a disturbing willingness to condone violence, raising serious doubts about his ability to serve responsibly,” Knudsen wrote. “This is not a trivial lapse in judgment; it is a red flag about temperament, accountability, and fitness for office.”

The letter emphasizes concerns about political violence in the context of recent attacks on elected officials, including the assassination of former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark, and Charlie Kirk, as well as the attempted murders of Minnesota state senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette and attempted shooting of their daughter Hope, and the attempted assassination of President Trump.

“When an incoming attorney general engages in rhetoric condoning violence, it signals that such behavior is acceptable,” the letter states.

The letter also raises concerns about the potential threat Jones could pose to other attorneys general, asking: “If Mr. Jones can wish death on his political opponents and their families in Virginia, at what point will he wish the same upon us?”

“The office of attorney general is a solemn trust. It demands integrity, judgment, and respect for the law. Mr. Jones’ conduct—and his lack of genuine accountability—casts serious doubt on his ability to uphold that trust,” Knudsen wrote. “Granting membership to someone who has openly fantasized about murder risks eroding the credibility of our profession and endangering colleagues nationwide.”

The letter emphasizes that the concern transcends partisanship: “This is not about party politics. It is about public trust, the integrity of law enforcement, and basic human decency.”

“Allowing Mr. Jones to participate would be a stain on our institutions and an abject moral failure. Your response will demonstrate whether our profession holds all members accountable, or whether violent rhetoric will go unchecked,” the letter concludes.

Attorneys general from Alabama, Florida, Idaho, Nebraska, and Texas joined the letter led by Knudsen.

Click here to read the letter.