After a nine-day trial and around 10 hours of deliberation, a Texas jury has stripped conspiracy theorist Alex Jones of primary custody of his three children, allowing ex-wife Kelly Jones joint custody and control over where the children live.
The children, aged nine, 12, and 14, previously lived with Jones, a belligerent adult man who believes that 9/11 and the Sandy Hook massacre were hoaxes perpetrated by the government, who has called Barack Obama “al-Qaeda,” and who has a penchant for ripping his shirt open mid-interview.
In the deposition, Jones says he forgot the names of his children’s teachers because he was distracted by a “big ol’ bowl of chili,” and his ex-wife’s lawyer said Jones once took off his shirt during a family therapy session. Per the Daily Beast, Kelly Jones said that he is “an angry, volatile person who has racist, homophobic views” and “is enraged and out of control most of the time,” and that their children “are morphing into him.” She also claimed that Alex “doesn’t believe in traditional medicine” and will not allow them to get vaccinated.
Ironically, the crux of Jones’s defense relied on painting his ex-wife as delusional, paranoid, and prone to emotional outbursts. They also attempted to argue that his unhinged behavior, which has garnered him millions of fans and a kinship with Donald Trump, is just a part of his persona. The jury was apparently unmoved by this argument.
“Mr. Jones is like a cult leader,” said Kelly’s lawyer, Robert Hoffman. “The children appear to be cult followers, doing what daddy wants them to do.”
According to the Daily Beast, Jones was “admonished countless times” for “shaking his head and scoffing at unfriendly testimony.” He did, however, refrain from busting out of his shirt.