Thread: Alex Jones, the Infowars conspiracy guru, is just playing a part

Alex Jones, the Infowars conspiracy guru, is just playing a part, his lawyer says



Christopher Wilson Editor
Yahoo News April 17, 2017
676 Comments


Alex Jones speaks during a rally in support of Donald Trump near the Republican National Convention in 2016. (Photo: Brooks Kraft/Getty Images) More

Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones is just playing a character on his popular Infowars broadcast, according to his lawyer.

The question of whether or not Jones believes the myriad conspiracy theories he espouses daily or is simply putting on a performance has become an issue in a custody hearing between Jones and his ex-wife. Kelly Jones, who has been divorced from Alex Jones since 2015, is suing in Texas court for partial or sole custody of their three children.

According to an Austin American-Statesman report on the pretrial hearing, Jones attorney Randall Wilhite said that inferring Jones’ character based on his Infowars broadcasts would make as much sense as judging Jack Nicholson based on his performance as the Joker.

“He’s playing a character,” Wilhite said of Jones. “He is a performance artist.”

The judge, Orlinda Naranjo, said the case would not be about Infowars, which she said she had never seen or listened to until last week.

Infowars is one of the most popular conspiracy websites on the Internet. Among other claims he has advanced, Jones has suggested that the 9/11 attacks were an inside job perpetrated by the American government, that aspects of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre were faked, and that a Washington pizzeria was the headquarters of a pedophile ring involving Hillary Clinton’s campaign chief John Podesta. (Jones later apologized for his role in the “Pizzagate” theory after a frequent Infowars listener who said he was investigating the charges fired off shots inside the restaurant.)

Jones claims to have the ear of President Trump, and Trump the candidate did partake in a 30-minute interview with Jones in December 2015. Trump incorporated a few of Jones’ favorite theories into his campaign stops, including a riff on how the California drought was a hoax.

“Your reputation is amazing,” said Trump to Jones during the conversation. “I won’t let you down.”

Jones’ wife is saying there’s no difference between her former husband and the on-air personality who has threatened to beat up both actor Alec Baldwin and California Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff in recent months.

“I’m concerned that he is engaged in felonious behavior, threatening a member of Congress,” said Kelly Jones during the pretrial hearing, per the American-Statesman. “He broadcasts from home. The children are there, watching him broadcast.” Jones’ children are aged 14, 12 and 9.

Jones said his comments about Schiff — whom he called a “goddamn son of a bitch” earlier this month — were “clearly tongue-in-cheek and basically art performance.”

One of Jones’ latest theories actually involves children — the children of former President Barack Obama. On Friday’s edition of Infowars, he sat down with Mike Cernovich, the alt-right conspiracy theorist whom Donald Trump Jr. recently suggested should win the Pulitzer. Via Media Matters, Jones said, “The word is those aren’t even his kids,” in reference to Malia and Sasha Obama, to which Cernovich replied, “I’ve heard that too.”

Journalist Jon Ronson, who has known Jones for nearly two decades and chronicled him in Them and The Elephant in the Room, told Yahoo News that he didn’t think there was a difference between the performer and person.

“I’ve been talking to people close to Alex, and they have expressed surprise,” said Ronson in an interview with Yahoo News. “They’ve said to me, ‘That’s not the Alex I know; Alex is exactly the same off camera and on camera.’ When I went to visit him in the summer, I noticed he was exactly the same off camera to on camera.”

He added, “Even 20 years ago at Bohemian Grove, there wasn’t an ‘on Alex’ and an ‘off Alex.’ He was always the same. I honestly think the Alex you see on TV is Alex.”

Beginning Monday, a jury will be selected at the Travis County Courthouse to sort out whether there is a difference between the public Jones and private Jones, and whether, when it comes to his fitness as a parent, it matters.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/alex-jone...152318154.html

Alex Jones Apologizes for Promoting ‘Pizzagate’ Hoax

@ #PizzaGate: What We Know So Far

AJ, for years, has made excellent documentaries with timely footage from the past - however he acquired them. He also was brave enough to challenge those that needed to be challenged. His staff of reporters are brave & excellent also. Do we really need to acquire all our knowledge from main stream media and be hoaxed for sure?

AJ's problem is he possesses an erratic, over the top personality that gets the best of his judgement at times. He went off on Piers Morgan @ gun control that was embarrassing. So at least you know there is an erratic character flaw amongst his dutiful digging for truth beyond msm. & take all his stories under that consideration. Worth reviewing his site.

Jones claims to have the ear of President Trump, and Trump the candidate did partake in a 30-minute interview with Jones in December 2015. Trump incorporated a few of Jones’ favorite theories into his campaign stops, including a riff on how the California drought was a hoax.

Interesting.

Not really.

What what I can tell, Alex Jones is in a child custody battle for his kids. He has custody and his ex-wife is trying to gain custody. It's of no political or public importance.

Jones’ wife is saying there’s no difference between her former husband and the on-air personality who has threatened to beat up both actor Alec Baldwin and California Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff in recent months.

“I’m concerned that he is engaged in felonious behavior, threatening a member of Congress,” said Kelly Jones during the pretrial hearing, per the American-Statesman.

Alex Jones' lawyer says right-wing conspiracy theorist's bluster is all just an act

Tom Steele, Breaking News Producer

The right-wing conspiracy theorist who called the Sandy Hook school shooting a hoax and alleged that Hillary Clinton and her campaign manager had connections to a child sex ring is nothing more than a "performance artist," his lawyer says.

Alex Jones (via Twitter)

Alex Jones, the Austin-based radio host behind Infowars.com, is locked in a custody battle with his former wife, whom he divorced in 2015 and currently pays $43,000 a month.

And while his attorney says that the on-air persona is an act, Kelly Jones alleges that her ex-husband is subjecting their three children to an incendiary upbringing, theAustin-American-Statesman reports. She is seeking full custody of their 14-year-old son and 12- and 9-year-old daughters.

"He's not a stable person," she said at a pretrial hearing last week. "He says he wants to break Alec Baldwin's neck. He wants J-Lo to get raped."

She noted that he broadcasts his show from home and referenced recent comments he made about Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, in which Jones went on a profanity-laden anti-gay tirade and said he wanted to "beat" the congressman.

"I'm concerned that he is engaged in felonious behavior, threatening a member of Congress," she said.

But Alex Jones' attorney, Randall Wilhite, said that his client — who has said he believes 9/11 was an inside job — is not the same person off the air as he is on it. Wilhite drew a comparison to judging Jack Nicholson based on his role as the Joker in Batman.

"He's playing a character," he said. "He is a performance artist."

Jones, who was born in Dallas and spent much of his youth in Rockwall, started his career on Austin's public-access television before finding an audience of millions on Infowars, YouTube and The Alex Jones Show.

Reaction to Jones has been sharply divided and nearly as forceful as his oft-yelled proclamations:

The Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups, calls him "almost certainly the most prolific conspiracy theorist in contemporary America."

President Donald Trump, who appeared on Jones' radio show in December 2015, said his reputation "is amazing," adding: "I will not let you down." Jones later said Trump called to thank him after winning the election.

He drew praise from Donald Trump when Trump was a candidate for the White House, telling Jones in December 2015: "Your reputation is amazing. I will not let you down."

But state District Judge Orlinda Naranjo says the focus of the custody trial must be the children.

"This case is not about Infowars and I don't want it to be about Infowars," she said last week.

A jury was selected Monday, and opening arguments are set for Tuesday morning.

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/texa...uster-just-act

Oh, good Heavens - this is a custody battle - now that's 'real' reporting - real hard hitting journalism.

Yes, it's a custody battle. It shouldn't even be in the news.

Didn't realize custody situations involved a jury. What are they going to debate - he is a nut and shouldn't have access to his kids or he is partially nutty & should have visitation rights only.? Seriously, isn't that more for professionals to judge, a panel of professionals. Does the average person know enough @ marital situations, children situations? Sounds like it will be a circus and jurors will sell their story later for $$$.