Twitter late Thursday said it has “permanently suspended” conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and his InfoWars outlet, citing “new reports of Tweets and videos posted yesterday that violate our abusive behavior policy.”
Last month, YouTube, Apple, Facebook and Spotify banned Jones’ main platforms over concerns about his content. But Twitter only suspended some of his privileges, a move that drew criticism.
On Wednesday, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio tussled with Jones after Jones confronted and touched him outside a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing.
Jones, one of the most detestable conspiracy hucksters in American history, is in the midst of multiple lawsuits: He is currently being sued by the families of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting because he’s said on his program that the shooting was a hoax and accused the parents of victims of being actors. In addition, a man who was present at the alt-right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, last August whom Jones and Infowars have falsely accused of “orchestrating” the event is also suing Jones for defamation.
Jones has become notorious for promoting inflammatory conspiracy theories, delivered daily on his radio show with a characteristic grating scream. He has accused the government of controlling the weather, feminizing the population with chemicals in our water, and staging everything from 9/11 to the Oklahoma City bombing to the Sandy Hook massacre. He has dabbled in anti-Semitism, claiming vast segments of our economy are run by the “Jewish Mafia.” He has argued that Democrats plan to declare civil war, that Michelle Obama is secretly a man, and that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are literally demons from the fires of hell.
Throughout all of this, Jones has used his conspiracy theories to scare people into buying dubious products through his online store, including a line of supplements he calls “nutraceuticals” that will supposedly cleanse people of the new world order’s efforts to control and sicken the population — some of which, ironically, might be tainted with lead.
InfoWars has enjoyed the support of President Trump, who once called Jones “amazing.”