Alex Jones' custody battle has turned into a circus this past week, in part because his attorney made national headlines by arguing that the Infowars founder was a "performance artist" who cannot be judged by the character or contents of his unhinged radio program.
Journalists Charlie Warzel and Ben Hartman provided up-to-date dispatches from Austin, Texas, where common citizens have rushed to the courthouse to watch Jones testify to his competency as a parent.
Here is just a sample of the peculiar things Jones said on Thursday:
.@RealAlexJones -@RealAlexJones compares his characters to that of @StephenAtHome , Jon Oliver, @glennbeck "plays characters to illustrate points"
— Charlie Warzel (@cwarzel) April 20, 2017
.@RealAlexJones AJ tells court he doesn't bring his bombascity and rage from Infowars home with him. Here's his response (wants to swim/eat burgers): pic.twitter.com/GrT9TnFsge
— Charlie Warzel (@cwarzel) April 20, 2017
UPDATE: @RealAlexJones cross examination going on now. LOTS going on. Accuses media of warping trial story and "mind games"
— Charlie Warzel (@cwarzel) April 20, 2017
.@RealAlexJones We learned after divorce @RealAlexJones had 3,000 sq foot penthouse apt downtown. That he likes zebra meat is "actually really good"
— Charlie Warzel (@cwarzel) April 20, 2017
UPDATE: Jones took stand again. mentioned kids watching him. "they're very proud of the comedy memes that i appear in; online i'm a #1 meme"
— Charlie Warzel (@cwarzel) April 20, 2017
.@RealAlexJones @StephenAtHome @glennbeck Jones talks about marijuana use says he tests it yearly to "monitor its strength" says it's too strong now, blames George Soros for that.
— Charlie Warzel (@cwarzel) April 20, 2017
During Jones' cross-examination, there were some seriously tense moments, with Kelly Jones' attorney berating the radio host on his drug use and sex life in an attempt to damage his credibility, or lack thereof. Jones was asked about comments he made on the Joe Rogan podcast, in which he notes that marijuana is legal in California where the show was taped and that "everybody smokes marijuana on that show."
As far as alcohol, Jones said that he is never intoxicated around his children or on his show. He was then shown a clip that looked to refute his claim. The video was of Jones on Inauguration Day where he's outside the Capital slurring his words and generally behaving drunk. Despite the clip, Jones was adamant that he never drinks when he is on Infowars, Warzel reported.
“Sometimes I’ll have a drink every day and then other times I’ll go without it for months,” he said.
At one point during the questioning, Jones was reportedly near tears as he accused the attorney of having no decency.
.@RealAlexJones Nearly crying Jones said KJ's aty had no decency "i've never seen anything like this not in TV not in movies" accused atty of twisting words
— Charlie Warzel (@cwarzel) April 20, 2017
Warzel, who wrote a full a rundown of Jones' testimony for BuzzFeed News, reported that Jones was frustrated in part because he could not react to reports in the news. All parties and attorneys in the case are under a gag order and are not allowed to speak to the press. Jones may have violated the gag order, Warzal wrote, by filming two live-stream videos the past couple of days in which he addresses the "performance art" claims at issue in the case. While Jones, a self-proclaimed journalist, is finding it hard not to comment on the media's interest in the case, his ex-wife has respectively asked for privacy.
In a statement to Salon, Kelly Jones said the custody battle was a "difficult situation for our family" and asked the media to "please respect the rulings of the Judge and refrain from relaying any private information about our children."
"This case is about our children's well-being and best interest. It is not in their best interest for either Alex or me to speak to the press during the proceedings," her statement said.
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