Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Martha McHardy

Alex Jones says he may ‘disappear’ in wild Tucker Carlson interview

@TuckerCarlon via Twitter

Infowars host Alex Jones predicted he may “disappear” during a wild interview with Fox News pundit Tucker Carlson.

The right-wing conspiracy theorist, who went bankrupt after he was sued for promoting a false theory that the Sandy Hook massacre was a hoax, told Mr Carlson he is “almost obsolete” during an interview on X on Thursday.

However, while Mr Jones suggested that he may one day “disappear like Obi-Wan Kenobi,” he said he is waiting for other right-wing media figures like Mr Carlson “who actually know what’s going on” to grow in influence before he can “hang it up.”

“Now there’s been a paradigm shattering, and I’m almost obsolete, Tucker,” he said. “As soon as I see a couple hundred more prominent people who actually know what’s going on, when we’re already reached chain-reaction point, I’m going to hang it up and disappear like Obi-Wan Kenobi.”

“The more they throw against me, the more support I get, and it’s really become a historic battle,” Mr Jones told Mr Carlson at the conclusion of the 90-plus minute sit-down. “If I’m completely banned and defanged and shut down and can’t operate, only then would I try to evacuate somewhere to try to keep my show on the air. But… once they disrupt and shut down something, it’s very hard to restart it.”

“The good news is, there are so many other great talk show hosts, so many other great people that now understand this, and even have perspectives better than mine,” he continued, citing Russell Brand, Joe Rogan and Steve Bannon. “I’m not obsolete yet, but … thanks to you, I know that no matter what happens to me, men and women are going to continue the fight forward into the future.”

Tucker Carlson and Alex Jones
— (@TuckerCarlon via Twitter)

The Inforwars host has previously had a close allyship with Mr Carlson, who has also been known to peddle right-wing conspiracy theories about the January 6 insurrection and baseless claims about murdered Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich.

During a December 2021 episode of his primetime show, Mr Carlson called Mr Jones a “far better journalist” than credible mainstream reporters like CBS News Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent Margaret Brennan and NBC News Justice and Intelligence Correspondent Ken Dilanian, despite his history of amplifying misinformation.

Mr Jones filed for bankruptcy last December after a judge ordered him to pay $1.5bn to the families of the victims of the Sandy Hook shooting, which he claimed never happened.

Mr Jones has so far failed to pay out any of the sum after he told his audience last year he was “officially out of money”.

Infowars host Alex Jones promised to ‘disappear’ during a wild interview with Fox News pundit Tucker Carlson
— (Hearst Connecticut Media)

The amount of money Mr Jones owes Sandy Hook families could grow even larger as he faces another lawsuit in Texas, brought by the parents of six-year-old Noah Pozner, one of the children who was killed in the massacre. A trial date has not yet been set.

Relatives of the victims testified at the trials about being harassed and threatened by Mr Jones’ believers, who sent threats and even confronted the grieving families in person, accusing them of being “crisis actors” whose children never existed.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.