The son of Maryland House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones has died, a spokesperson announced Thursday.

The brief statement came in an email but had few details, including a cause of death.

“This morning, Speaker Adrienne A. Jones was notified of the death of her son Brandon. We do not have any additional information at this time. Speaker Jones requests privacy during this difficult time for her and her family,” the statement said.

The news spread throughout the Maryland capital complex and lawmakers honored the Baltimore County Democrat and her family with moments of silence.

Gov. Wes Moore asked lawmakers and attendees to observe a moment of silence, before testifying during a budget hearing.

“I know we’re all thinking about our speaker right now,” he said, adding she’s “deeply in our thoughts and that we’re lifting her and her family up.”

Del. Luke Clippinger recognized the speaker’s loss ahead of the House Judiciary Committee hearing, conveying his and his committee’s “deep sorrow.”

“She has lost a son,” the Baltimore Democrat said.

Clippinger acknowledged the difficult issues his committee and the legislature deal with, “but none can compare to what the Speaker of the House is going through right now,” he said.

Jones left the dais just before the end of Thursday’s floor session. Speaker Pro Tem Del. Dana Stein gaveled out the House. Stein, a fellow Baltimore County Democrat, steps in during the speaker’s rare absences.

Jones has served in the House of Delegates and on dozens of committees and subcommittees since joining the General Assembly in 1997. She is the first Black, female speaker.

Before being elected to lead the House, she served as the body’s second in command under former Speaker Michael E. Busch, who held the gavel until he died in 2019.

Jones has successfully championed bills allowing voters to change Maryland’s constitution to legalize limited amounts of recreational cannabis and enshrine reproductive rights.

Baltimore Banner reporters Pamela Wood and Madeleine O’Neill contributed to this story.