Jurors in the Alex Jones defamation trial have begun their deliberations.
The right-wing conspiracy theorist had been making headlines again as he appeared in court this week.
Jones, who is from Austin, Texas, is being sued for defamation for one of the most despicable conspiracy theories that he has touted to date.
He claimed that the Sandy Hook mass shooting was a "hoax" and that parents of the 20 child victims were "crisis actors".
He's been accused of making money off spreading "misinformation and false lies" about the massacre.
The controversial far-right man has a decades-long career as a leading conspiracy theorist and has propagated a number of wild ideas.
Here's who Alex Jones is, why he's been on trial, and some of his most outlandish and dangerous conspiracy theories.
Who is Alex Jones?
Alex Jones is an American alt-right and far-right conspiracy theorist.
He's been a leading voice in the world of conspiracy theories for over 20 years.
In 1999 Jones founded the website Inforwars, which promotes far-right ideas, conspiracy theories and fake news.
He went on to expand his far-right media empire, founding a multitude of podcasts, shows and websites.
Infowars is now reported to get as many as 10 million visitors a month.
The Austin national also had a YouTube channel, which he used to present The Alex Jones Show.
Jones racked up around 2.4million subscribers on his YouTube, before his channel was removed.
In 2018 Facebook, Apple, YouTube and Spotify booted Jones' podcasts, pages and channels from their platforms.
Spotify claimed that Infowars had been blocked because the content “expressly and principally promotes, advocates, or incites hatred or violence against a group or individual based on characteristics”.
Meanwhile, Facebook said that Jones' pages were “glorifying violence, which violates our graphic violence policy, and using dehumanizing language to describe people who are transgender, Muslims and immigrants, which violates our hate speech policies”.
Apple also said that the conspiracy theorist's podcasts had violated its hate speech policy.
Since then, Jones has gone on to air his shows and podcasts on his website Banned.video.
Alex Jones' wildest conspiracy theories
Alex Jones has used his far-reaching platforms to spread countless bizarre, harmful and occasionally deeply dangerous conspiracy theories.
Among some of the most disturbing and outlandish theories are the idea that the US government controls the weather and that Robert Mueller is a demon.
'The government controls the weather'
In 2013, Jones claimed in one of his broadcasts: “Of course there’s weather weapon stuff going on."
He went on to say: “We had floods in Texas like 15 years ago, killed 30-something people in one night. Turned out it was the Air Force.”
In 2018 he reiterated the wild conspiracy again as he claimed: “There is weather-modification going on.”
“They tell you about the stuff you know about, GPS and all of that. But when it comes to controlling the weather, they don’t. But it’s in all the trade publications, the university publications. It’s all there, and that’s my frustration,” he said.
'Robert Mueller is a demon and paedophile'
As an avid Trump supporter, many of Jones' conspiracy theories have centred around taking down the former president's opponents.
In 2017 Jones called special counsel Robert Mueller a "demon" and falsely accused the FBI director of being a paedophile.
On one of his shows that year, Jones said: “Everyone’s so scared of Mueller, they’d let Mueller rape kids in front of people, which he did."
He went on to threaten to "take down" Mueller as he said: “That’s a demon I will take down, or I’ll die trying.
“So that’s it. It’s going to happen, we’re going to walk out in the square, politically, at high noon, and he’s going to find out whether he makes a move man, make the move first, and then it’s going to happen.
"It’s not a joke. It’s not a game. It’s the real world. Politically. You’re going to get it, or I’m going to die trying, b**ch.”
Jones acted out firing a hypothetical gun at Mueller as he made the threat, and it resulted in more public pressure for his platforms to be removed various social media sites.
'Pizzagate'
Jones also promoted the "Pizzagate" conspiracy theory on his website and social media.
The baseless theory claimed that 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and some of her top associates were running a demonic sex-trafficking ring inside a pizza shop.
In 2016, North Carolina man Edgar Maddison Welch fired shots inside a child-friendly pizzeria in Washington DC.
Welch claimed that he was "self-investigating" the "Pizzagate" theory and was reported have been listening to Alex Jones' radio show and following him on Facebook.
Welch was sentenced to four years in prison and after he pleaded guilty, Jones issued an apology.
He said: “I want our viewers and listeners to know that we regret any negative impact our commentaries may have had on Alefantis, Comet Ping Pong, or its employees."
Sandy Hook
One of Jones' most despicable conspiracy theories, and perhaps the one he is most notable for, is his denial of the Sandy Hook massacre.
On December 14 2012, a 20-year-old gunman walked into Sandy Hook elementary school and carried out a mass shooting that saw him kill 26 people.
Twenty of the victims were children between the ages of six and seven.
For years, Jones has made claims that the shooting was a hoax, claiming it to be "completely fake" and staged purely to promote gun restrictions.
He accused the grieving parents of the murdered children of being "crisis actors".
Why is Alex Jones on trial?
Alex Jones is currently on trial for defamation in relation to his false claims about the Sandy Hook shooting.
Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, the parents of six-year-old Jesse Lewis, who was one of the victims killed in the attack, are suing Jones for defamation and are seeking at least $150million (£123million) in awards from the radio host.
Neil and Scarlett say that they've faced harassment and emotional distress because of Jones' comments on the attack.
On August 3, Jones finally conceded in court that the shooting was "100% real".
He told the jury: "Especially since I've met the parents. It's 100% real.
"They [the media] won't let me take it back."
The trial has consisted of some dramatic moments.
On August 2, Judge Maya Guerra Gamble reprimanded Jones for lying under oath after he falsely told the jury that he was bankrupt.
She said: "It seems absurd to instruct you again that you must tell the truth while you testify, yet here I am."
In another explosive moment it was revealed that Jones' own lawyers had "messed up" and sent the entire contents of his phone over to the lawyers of Neil and Scarlett.
Mark Bankston, a lawyer representing the parents, told the court: “12 days ago, his [Jones’] attorneys messed up and sent me a digital copy of every text.”
Now, Rolling Stone has reported that the January 6th House Committee, who are investigating the attack on the Capitol, are preparing to request all of the text messages and emails revealed during the defamation trial.
