Far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, who is being investigated for his role in last year’s insurrection, is now claiming he’s a hero for trying to stop it.
“It’s a bizarre feeling to know you did nothing wrong, to know there’s no evidence that you did anything wrong, to know that you had no motive and to know that you tried to stop what happened,” Jones said on his InfoWars program Monday. “And quite frankly, I’m not asking for a medal, but everybody else just stood there. And then a thousand undercover FBI agents and hostage rescue team people that were there, on record, sat there while I tried to stop what was happening.”
He added: “It really infuriates me.”
Jones, a key promoter of former President Donald Trump’s rigged election lie, reportedly offered to talk to the House committee investigating the insurrection in exchange for immunity last month.
Jones donated at least $50,000 and helped raise even more for Trump’s rally that preceded the storming of the U.S. Capitol last year, The Wall Street Journal reported. He also was among the speakers who stirred the pro-Trump crowd before they rioted.
“We need to understand we’re under attack,” Jones said at the time, “and we need to understand this is 21st-century warfare and get on a war footing.”
Jones used a bullhorn on Jan. 6 to repeatedly shout “1776” — the year of the American Revolution — which has been identified as code for a call to violence.
The night before the rally, Jones gave a speech to Trump supporters, urging them to fight against the “globalists.”
“We have only begun our fight against their tyranny,” he said. “They have tried to steal this election in front of everyone. And as I told them 20 years ago, I’ll tell them again: I don’t know how this is all going to end, but if they want to fight, they better believe they’ve got one.”
Jones was recently found liable for defamation after repeatedly claiming that the shooting deaths of 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut in 2012 was a hoax staged by crisis actors as part of an anti-gun stunt. Jones’ comments triggered death threats against the victims’ families.
He now admits the massacre did happen.
Jones, who is a multimillionaire, also claims that his businesses are bankrupt. A lawyer for Sandy Hook plaintiffs described Jones’ move as a “sinister” strategy to dodge paying damages.