Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) went to bat for fellow conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, saying “all he did was speak words” after a jury ordered the Infowars host to pay Sandy Hook victims’ families nearly $1 billion for his lies about the elementary school massacre.
“Were his words wrong and did he apologize? Yes,” Greene tweeted on Wednesday. “That’s what freedom of speech is. Freedom to speak words. Political persecution must end.”
Greene, who has a history of pushing conspiracy theories about mass shootings, praised Jones and claimed he’s been “right pretty much most of the time” after he lost an August defamation trial for lying about Sandy Hook. Her comments after the latest verdict echoed Jones’ failed free-speech defense.
Jones repeatedly claimed the 2012 school massacre was faked and involved actors. In reality, it left 20 children and six adults dead.
Greene was lashed on Twitter for her comments.
Erica Lafferty, the daughter of slain Sandy Hook principal Dawn Lafferty Hochsprung, pointed out that Jones was holding a press conference outside the courthouse as she was inside testifying how Sandy Hook conspiracy theory backers threatened her with rape and death because of Jones’ falsehoods.
Others noted that free speech doesn’t excuse the consequences of lying. Yelling “fire” in a crowded movie theater is speaking a word, too, one person pointed out.