conspiracy king Alex Jones of Infowars fame is embroiled in a custody battle with his ex-wife, who claims that Jones' fiery and abrasive personality is a threat to the safety and well-being of the radio host's 14-year-old son and two daughters, ages 9 and 12.
"He's not a stable person," Kelly Jones stated in a recent pre-trial hearing, citing numerous examples of the InfoWars creator's controversial rants, such as the time he challenged Alec Baldwin to a fist fight and, more recently, his expletive laden on-air tirade against Democratic congressman Adam Schiff, which culminated in threats of violence.
According to Alex Jones' attorney, Randall Wilhite, the alt-right radio host is merely portraying a character for the benefit of his audience.
Conspiracy theory as performance art
The Austin-American Statesman reported on Sunday that, during a recent pre-trial hearing, Jones' attorney told Judge Orlinda Naranjo that his client is a "performance artist". Wilhite argued that judging Alex Jones as a father based on his public persona would be like judging Jack Nicholson based on his portrayal of the Joker in "Batman."
"He's playing a character," insisted Wilhite.
Kelly Jones, however, says that is not the point.
At the pre-trial hearing, she expressed concern that her ex-husband is engaged in "felonious behavior," referring to Jones' threat to beat up Rep.
Adam Schiff. She claims that since Jones broadcasts from home, the children are exposed to his outrageous and often vulgar outbursts-- whether it's "performance art" or not.
An Austin jury will be selected this week and will endeavor to sort out whether or not there is a difference between Alex Jones the public conspiracy-monger and Alex Jones the private citizen and father of three.
As for Judge Naranjo, she says that the only thing she's concerned about is the welfare of the children.
"This case is not about InfoWars, and I don't want it to be about InfoWars," said Naranjo at a previous pre-trial conference.
Ex-wife seeks $7 million for emotional distress
Orlinda Naranjo has served as the presiding judge of the 419th District Court in Travis County since 2006.
During the previous pre-trial hearing on April 7, the judge ruled in favor of Alex Jones, denying his ex-wife's motion to unseal the court's records of the custody proceedings.
The Austin-American Statesman reported that, earlier this year, lawyers representing Kelly Jones filed a motion to add a $7 million emotional distress claim against the alt-right radio host. In another motion, her attorneys asked the judge to make Alex Jones foot the bill for Kelly's legal fees. Judge Naranjo dismissed the motion, stating that Kelly Jones already receives a $43,000 per month stipend from her ex-husband.
