“There are people who are avaricious parasites. There are psychotic geniuses in control of this planet,
and to them human beings are only a commodity to be bought and sold and traded.” – Alex Jones
How bad was Alex Jones’s week in court?
It was bad.
He was caught lying under oath
about his previous lies
about the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
And he found out
his lawyers accidentally handed over
every one of his texts
and all his emails
to the attorneys for the families he maligned.
one of those families
close to $50 million in total damages
(although that number could change.)
An extraordinary reckoning.
And it’s likely only just beginning.
You know what perjury is, right?
one of the lawyers asked Jones.
Indeed he does.
But Jones’ very bad week should also be a teachable moment.
Sure, it’s a televised example of pure schadenfreude.
(That’s German for Haters Gonna Hate.)
But still funnier than Amber vs. Johnny, some say.
But it’s also a reminder
in today’s conservative movement,
crazy is not only tolerated —
it’s encouraged.
Because Jones’ toxic, anti-governmental conspiracy theories
have slowly
but surely
infiltrated the political waters.
Things that ten years ago would have been dismissed
as pure unadulterated Grade-A poopoo-covfefe
are now being repeated in the halls of Congress.
And of course,
two-time loser of the popular vote
Donald Trump
is right there
in the middle of it all.
For decades now,
Alex Jones has weaponized and monetized
conspiracy theories,
fake outrage,
lies and paranoia.
He pushed
theories that 9/11 was an inside job,
suggested
our government likely was behind the bombings
in Oklahoma City, which killed 168 people,
and at the Boston Marathon, which killed three.
The Boston Marathon, for Christ’s sake!!!
Alex Jones claimed
the mass shooting
at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, was
a deep state false flag operation
engineered to start a civil war.
He told his followers
the mass murder at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado,
was a false flag, mind-control event.
The Columbine school shootings
were 100 percent false flag,
as were the attacks
in Orlando, Florida,
Las Vegas
and San Bernardino, California.
In his post-truth world,
Jones charged
the government had plans to use chemicals
to turn people gay,
I have the government documents
where they said they’re going to encourage
homosexuality
with chemicals
so that people don’t have children.
And, of course, he lied
about the children
gunned down at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
He now admits
that attack was 100% real.
But that’s not the story he peddled for years.
Sandy Hook [was] ‘synthetic,’
completely fake, with actors, in my view,
Jones said in one clip played to the jury this week.
Manufactured.
I couldn’t believe it at first.
I knew they had actors,
they are clearly,
but I thought they killed some real kids.
And it just shows how bold they are,
they clearly used actors,
I mean, they even ended up
using photos of kids killed in mass shootings …
in a fake mass shooting in Turkey.
Or, uh, Pakistan.
The pain he inflicted
on the families of the murdered
children
was unimaginable.
The grieving parents
were subjected to years of threats, insults and intimidation.
But, for Jones, few negative consequences.
To the contrary,
he flourished in the growing alternative reality bubble
where he could drive the political narrative,
regardless of fact-checkers.
Instead of being shunned or marginalized,
or kneed in the nuts
which seems about right for starters,
Jones found
lying was a lucrative business model
that leads to celebrity and political clout.
According to his own leaked text messages,
there were days
Jones claimed he was bringing in $800,000.
Eight hundred K a day.
But more important,
as his audience grew,
Jones’ conspiracy theories were amplified
by others in the right-wing media ecosystem.
And he was a major player
in the rise of Donald Trump. Not an image I choose to carry.
Here the worlds of mainstream politics, MAGA fanaticism and fringe conspiracy theory
start to collide.
Your reputation is amazing,
I will not let you down,
Trump told Jones in a December 2015 appearance.
Trump’s crony Roger Stone called the conspiracy theorist,
the single most important voice in the alternative conservative media,
and a valuable asset
who will rally the people around President Trump’s legislative program.
Oh, that’s rich.
On the Monday after his election victory,
the president-elect called Jones
to thank him for his support in the campaign
and promised Jones he would return to his show,
a pledge The Washington Post called
“an extraordinary gesture
for an incoming president
whose schedule is packed
with calls from world leaders
and the enormous task
of overseeing the transition.”
Wow. I can see what you mean now. Never thought of that.
But this week,
Alex Jones found himself
in a court of law,
where the lies finally caught up with him.
And when it happened,
the karma was jaw-dropping.
“This is your Perry Mason moment,”
a startled Jones said
after being confronted
in open court
with incriminating texts and emails about Sandy Hook.
Captured on videotape. Replayed over and over.
Only marginally less dramatic
was the rebuke
from the judge presiding over the trial.
You must tell the truth while you testify,
Maya Guerra Gamble told Jones.
This is not your show.
You need to slow down
and not take what you see
as opportunities to further
the message you’re wanting to further
and instead only answer
the specific and exact questions
you have been asked,
she said.
You got that, bucko?!
When Alex Jones tried to argue
he believed
he was telling the truth,
Gamble clarified the difference
between an alternative reality media world
and a court of law.
In the law, she told him,
truth was actually a real thing.
You believe everything you say
is true,
but it isn’t,
she told him.
Like a teacher chastising a fourth grader.
Just because you claim to think something is true
does not make it true.
It does not protect you.
It is not allowed.
You’re under oath.
It was, by any measure, a bracing moment.
Alex Jones now owes millions in damages.
And it may get even worse.
The Jan. 6 committee issues subpoenas
and, Jones — a serial liar — may face perjury charges.
Other law enforcement officials
likely express interest
in the contents of his phone.
Unfortunately, however,
always an ‘however’ these days
his spectacular fall means not an end
to Alex Jones’ now much more common
oh so so common
brand of political paranoia.
Right-wing scam-stream media,
with nudges from the former president himself,
has become habituated to BIG LIES
and apocalyptic conspiracy theories.
Dangerous,
obviously untrue theories
about voter fraud
and the DEEP STATE
are now commonplace.
Dozens, if not hundreds thousands?
of imitators,
fellow grifters,
and bottom feeders
are ready
to take his place.
But his successors
should pay close attention
to the fate of Alex Jones.
It may give them a glimpse
of their own future.
Which is dark.
Awful awful dark.