InfoWars' Alex Jones is a 'performance artist playing a character', says his lawyer
Notorious US broadcaster Alex Jones is a “performance artist” and his on air persona is an act, according to his lawyer.
Mr Jones runs the controversial Infowars website, which is known for propagating conspiracy theories and its support of Donald Trump.
But Mr Jones is now embroiled in a custody battle with his estranged wife, Kelly Jones, with whom he has three children. She said some of Mr Jones’s on-air rants – for which he is renowned – are evidence of him being “not a stable” father.
However, Randall Wilhite, Mr Jones’s attorney, said the behaviour was merely an act.
“He’s playing a character. He is a performance artist.” Mr Wilhite said, according to the Austin-American Statesman.
The claim is likely to cause some confusion among Mr Jones’s fans, who have closely followed his musings. These included unfounded assertions that the Sandy Hook massacre and Boston bombings were hoaxes, Hillary Clinton should be jailed and that Barack Obama founded Isis.
But Mr Jones is not just any shock jock – his listeners are believed to include President Trump, who appeared on his show in December 2015, several months after he announced his candidacy. With millions of listeners a month, Infowars is credited with galvanising a large amount of support for Mr Trump during last year’s election.
Yet Mr Jones’s former wife claimed he was unhinged.
According to the Statesman, Ms Jones told a pre-trial hearing: “He’s not a stable person. He says he wants to break Alec Baldwin’s neck. He wants J-Lo to get raped.”
