What did Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares say about 'two bullets' and when did he say it?

1. What the original claim actually alleges — and where the words came from

The core claim under review is whether Jason Miyares said “two bullets” and when. The evidence in the supplied materials shows the phrase originated in text messages from Jay Jones in August 2022, where Jones suggested former House Speaker Todd Gilbert should get “two bullets to the head.” Those texts resurfaced in October 2025 and became the central scandal of the Virginia attorney general campaign, repeatedly described in contemporaneous reporting as Jones’s words, not Miyares’s ^{[3] [4] [5]}.

2. How Miyares used the phrase in campaign fight — direct references and timing

Miyares used Jones’s resurfaced texts as a campaign weapon, citing the “two bullets” message to question Jones’s fitness for office. Reporting indicates Miyares brought up the texts during the October 16, 2025 debate between the candidates and at an impromptu Richmond news conference in early October 2025, where he called Jones’s comments “the kind of darkness that disqualifies anyone from holding public office.” Those accounts show Miyares referencing the phrase to condemn it, but not originating it ^{[1] [2]}.

3. The chronology: texts from 2022, revelation in October 2025, debate on October 16

The timeline is straightforward: the texts were sent in August 2022, remained private until they surfaced in October 2025, triggering widespread condemnation. Journalists placed the high-profile candidate exchange and Miyares’s public references to the texts in mid-October, with the debate on October 16, 2025 singled out as a moment when Miyares raised the issue directly in front of voters ^{[6] [1]}. Coverage dated October and early November 2025 documents both the revelation and ensuing political fallout ^[4].

4. How different outlets and actors framed Miyares’s role — sharpened accusations vs. procedural distancing

News coverage shows two distinct framings. One thread emphasizes that Miyares repeatedly condemned the “two bullets” text as evidence of Jones’s poor judgment, quoting Miyares calling the remark disqualifying and using it as debate ammunition ^{[2] [1]}. Another thread notes reporters did not always capture a verbatim quote from Miyares that repeats the words “two bullets”; instead, many stories describe him referencing Jones’s message and denouncing it in public statements. This distinction matters: outlets attribute the phrase to Jones while documenting Miyares’s forceful response ^[5].

5. Who pushed the story and what was omitted — political stakes and selective quoting

The supplied analyses show that Republican and Democratic actors both amplified the narrative for political effect. Republicans highlighted the texts as disqualifying, with Miyares and other GOP figures using them against Jones, while some Democrats stressed that violent rhetoric can come from multiple sources. Several reports note Jones apologized, that other officials demanded his withdrawal, and that Miyares used victims’ stories to underscore his condemnation — facts that shaped coverage but left room for partisan framing and selective quotation ^{[3] [5] [7]}.

6. Bottom line: precise answer and evidentiary basis

The precise, evidence-based answer is: Jason Miyares did not utter “two bullets” as an original threat — that phrase belonged to Jay Jones’s 2022 texts. Miyares publicly referenced and condemned those texts during the October 2025 campaign, notably at an impromptu news conference and in the October 16 debate, using the phrase as a critique of Jones’s temperament and qualifications ^{[2] [1]}. Multiple contemporary reports document Miyares’s condemnation but attribute the actual “two bullets” wording to Jones’s earlier messages ^{[4] [5]}.