MADISON, Ga. —  A Twitter post targeting Congressional candidate Vernon Jones "may have elicited an emotional response from some" but it did not "rise to the level of a criminal act" as Jones alleged, the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office's chief deputy says.

The sheriff's office does not consider the June 14 tweet from opponent Mike Collins' campaign to be "a direct threat" to Jones despite him perceiving it as one, Chief Deputy Keith Howard said.

"While it may be offensive to some people, it's what we consider to be free speech, to put it in the context that it was made in the middle of a political campaign.

"It may have elicited an emotional response from some but it didn't rise to the level of a criminal act," he said. "We intend to take no law enforcement action for any criminal violations."

Collins' tweet was the latest salvo by either candidate in an increasingly bitter race for the Republican nomination for Georgia's 10th Congressional District seat in the Tuesday, June 21, runoff election.

Jones said Tuesday he filed a police report after he said a tweet posted on Collins' campaign Twitter account encouraged "violence against Jones depicting both a rape whistle featuring Jones’ name and a loaded gun."

Howard said he made the recommendation to the sheriff's office's investigators about it not being "a direct threat" based on his experience of more than 25 years in a former role in state government assessing threats to state officials, including former Gov. Roy Barnes. 

The sheriff's office told Jones to contact them if he believes such perceived threats are continuing, Howard said.

"We did open an incident report with instructions to Mr. Jones that, should he receive additional communications, he is to report that to us and we'll evaluate each one individually to determine if there is an escalation in the communication," he said.

The tweet was issued Monday afternoon on Collins' campaign Twitter account and features a photo of a red "rape whistle" with the address of a website that details information on a series of charges of intimidation and sexual misconduct made against Jones while he served as CEO of DeKalb County government and in the Georgia House of Representatives.

The tweet contains a photo of the whistle with Jones' name — which is paired with a photo of a pink handgun below the words, "Although some use a rape whistle for protection against sexual assault, a 9mm is the more preferred form of protection."

Collins' campaign has worked to increase voters' negative view of Jones by sending mailers to voters in the congressional district that list a series of personal and work-related sexual and homophobic allegations made against Jones over his three decades in state and county offices — including a 2005 rape allegation.

Jones has sought to link Collins' desire for election to merely wanting to follow his father, longtime congressman Mac Collins, into office. 

The Jones campaign also has tried to link a personal loan Collins made to his campaign with federal COVID-relief money Collins' Jackson trucking company received in 2020, which Collins has denied.

Collins had used "baseless and false attacks against me" similar to ones concerning sexual allegations made against some prominent conservative candidates in the past, Jones said.

“But, this time (Collins) went too far," Jones said. "This isn’t just nasty politics. This verges on criminal.

"I filed this report at the advice of counsel not just out of concern for my own safety but for the safety of my family, staff and supporters,” Jones said.

The winner will face the winner of Tuesday's Democratic Primary runoff between Jessica Fore and Tabitha Johnson-Green in the Nov. 8 General Election. The 18-county east Georgia district will include most of Newton County after Jan. 1.

However, the district outside Newton County is heavily Republican and the winner of the GOP Primary runoff Tuesday could have an easy path to election to the U.S. House. 

Incumbent U.S. Rep. Jody Hice, R-Greensboro, chose not to seek re-election to a fifth term this year to seek the Republican nomination for Georgia Secretary of State — which Hice lost to incumbent Brad Raffensperger May 24.

Collins and Jones qualified for Tuesday's runoff after Collins finished first and Jones second but neither received more than 50% of the total votes cast in an eight-candidate race for the nomination May 24.

Jones switched from the Democratic Party to the GOP in 2020. He began a campaign for governor in 2021 but switched to the 10th District race at the urging of former President Donald Trump, who later publicly endorsed Jones for the seat.