Infowars founder and host Alex Jones is “playing a character,” his lawyer argued during a recent custody hearing surrounding his three children.
“He is a performance artist,” Jones's attorney, Randall Wilhite, argued to a Texas judge, according to a report in the Austin American-Statesman.
Jones, a supporter of President Trump, is the owner and operator of popular websites Infowars.com and PrisonPlanet.com. He is best known for pushing unfounded conspiracy theories, including that the U.S. government was behind the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995 and the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
He also claims U.S. moon landings were faked and that the government faked the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting using actors.
He also pushed the “Pizzagate” conspiracy that maintained Democratic presidential nominee
Hillary Clinton and campaign chairman John Podesta were operating a child sex trafficking ring run out of a Washington, D.C., pizzeria. Months after supporting the false claim, Jones apologized.
Jones is battling his ex-wife, Kelly Jones, for custody of their 14-year-old son and two daughters, aged 12 and 9.
“He’s not a stable person. He says he wants to break Alec Baldwin’s neck. He wants [Jennifer Lopez] to get raped,” Kelly Jones said in court, according to the American-Statesman.
“He broadcasts from home. The children are there, watching him broadcast.”
Over the next two weeks, a jury will be asked to ascertain if Jones's on-air persona is different from his off-air persona, and if he's fit to be a parent.
Several segments from Jones's show has been played to the jury.