{"id":127158,"date":"2022-08-04T07:05:25","date_gmt":"2022-08-04T11:05:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/?p=127158"},"modified":"2022-08-04T07:05:25","modified_gmt":"2022-08-04T11:05:25","slug":"today-they-come-for-alex-jones-tomorrow-for-all-of-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/?p=127158","title":{"rendered":"<h2><b>Today They Come For Alex Jones, Tomorrow For All of Us<\/b><\/h2>"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><!--more--><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/tingey-injury-law-firm-DZpc4UY8ZtY-unsplash-1536x1024-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1536\" height=\"1024\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-127159\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/tingey-injury-law-firm-DZpc4UY8ZtY-unsplash-1536x1024-1.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/tingey-injury-law-firm-DZpc4UY8ZtY-unsplash-1536x1024-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/tingey-injury-law-firm-DZpc4UY8ZtY-unsplash-1536x1024-1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/tingey-injury-law-firm-DZpc4UY8ZtY-unsplash-1536x1024-1-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>By Ben Bartee<\/p>\n<p>Austin, Texas radio host Alex Jones is currently on the hook for $150 million, which would bankrupt all but the top 1% of the top 1% elite.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Sandy Hook Family Seeks $150M In Damages From Alex Jones | The Katie Phang Show\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/wCRLamg7qv4?feature=oembed\" width=\"550\" height=\"309\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The theory of the current batch of civil lawsuits against Alex Jones and InfoWars goes like this: he claimed on multiple occasions that <a href=\"https:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/alex-jones-v-sandy-hook-141040856.html\">the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting didn\u2019t happen<\/a>. He also posited the alternative theory that it did happen, but was a false flag.<\/p>\n<p>To be sure, there were lots of strange goings-on surrounding the case and the shooter. Here are just a handful:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Even mainstream outlets reported that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vice.com\/en\/article\/ne3zbg\/cops-heard-adam-lanza-wanted-to-kill-at-sandy-hook-before-shooting-docs-show-vgtrn\">the FBI and CIA visited the shooter Adam Lanza\u2019s house<\/a>, discussed his \u201cfascination\u201d with mass shootings with agents who then declined to take further action.<\/li>\n<li>In 2014, two years after the Sandy Hook massacre, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.snopes.com\/fact-check\/info-boors\/\">one of the deceased victims\u2019 photographs appeared on a poster at a vigil for a Pakistan school massacre<\/a>, ostensibly indicating him as a victim there as well.<\/li>\n<li>One day after the shooting, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AlexJonesMiner\/status\/1552723149480943622\">a parent of a murdered child appeared on camera at a press conference<\/a> laughing and smiling before taking a deep breath and assuming a more businesslike, somber tone to deliver his remarks. The rapid change in demeanor is startling and not at all what one would expect of a grieving father.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-34909\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thedailybell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/0000000-300x134.png\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thedailybell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/0000000-300x134.png 300w, https:\/\/www.thedailybell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/0000000-1024x457.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.thedailybell.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/0000000.png 1168w\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"134\" \/><\/p>\n<p>There are many more anomalies not included here for the sake of brevity.<\/p>\n<p>While none of the above curiosities, alone or in combination, proves government collusion, they certainly warrant further scrutiny. And they\u2019re fair game to examine with a skeptical eye.<\/p>\n<p>Which Jones did.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Alex Jones' Deposition On Sandy Hook Shooting\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/FuqjmP959vo?feature=oembed\" width=\"550\" height=\"309\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Per the prosecution\u2019s theory in the ongoing civil lawsuit, the parents of the Sandy Hook kids got harassed \u2014 allegedly due to Jones\u2019 skepticism, which caused them unquantifiable emotional distress. Now <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/us\/alex-jones-defamation-trial-begins-over-sandy-hook-shooting-2022-07-26\/\">their lawyers want $150 million in compensation<\/a>, and the corporate media is practically orgasming on air. Nothing excites them more than shutting down their populist, more popular competition.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"'He was visibly unnerved': Families want $150M from Alex Jones\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/KVN3eo4cw0o?feature=oembed\" width=\"550\" height=\"309\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/news.gallup.com\/poll\/394817\/media-confidence-ratings-record-lows.aspx\">Trust in legacy media among the public has plummeted to 36% (a record low, likely an overestimate)<\/a>. <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/cnn-was-just-the-latest-failed-attempt-of-the-cable-news-trailblazer-to-remain-relevant-182195\">\u00a0CNN+, the platform intended to rival online media, failed just three weeks into its launch<\/a> \u2013 even after CNN\u2019s parent company dumped $300 million into the project.<\/p>\n<p>The only way they can survive is to use the state\u2019s legal fiat to muzzle their competition.<\/p>\n<p>Jones never once said the purported Sandy Hook victims\u2019 names on the air \u2014 which, using common sense, would seem to be a baseline element of any defamation case (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dmlp.org\/legal-guide\/who-can-sue-defamation\">although US law doesn\u2019t always follow that standard<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, lots of web-based media figures claimed Sandy Hook didn\u2019t happen in the way it was portrayed. Lots of members of the general public are unhinged, independent of media influences. Lots of people get harassed online every day.<\/p>\n<p>The idea that Jones\u2019 denial\/questioning of Sandy Hook, through a labyrinth of cause and effect, through proxies, ultimately resulted in emotional trauma for parents is, to put it mildly, a stretch. Some might call it implausible.<\/p>\n<p>The evidence presented is an extremely loose casual chain of events, one which a jury likely wouldn\u2019t buy if the decision were left to them.<\/p>\n<p>Hence the default judgment and straight to damages.<\/p>\n<p>In a break from the Constitution, Alex Jones never got a jury trial to decide his guilt in this matter. Judges instead <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/arts-and-entertainment-shootings-austin-texas-education-7f41616ffbe55514c1370c19ce77558b\">unilaterally issued a default judgment of guilt<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.law.cornell.edu\/constitution\/seventh_amendment\">7<sup>th<\/sup> Amendment<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>\u201cIn suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, <strong><u>the right of trial by jury shall be preserved<\/u><\/strong>.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The right to jury trial, as indicated, extends even further back in time than the founding of the nation to British common law. That\u2019s how far fundamental rights have been eroded. Legally, we\u2019re getting dragged back into the feudal era.<\/p>\n<p>To emphasize, the current jury proceedings are not to determine guilt; the state already decided that for them. The jury\u2019s only job now is to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2022\/7\/26\/defamation-trial-for-damages-begins-over-sandy-hook-shooting-hoax\">decide <em>how much<\/em> Jones owes<\/a> based on his pre-determined guilt.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>\u201cGuilty until proven bankrupt.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The <strong><u>public, brazen display of extraconstitutional power is the point of the exercise<\/u><\/strong>. The state wants to demonstrate that it is no longer remotely constrained by the Constitution when it persecutes its enemies.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013<\/p>\n<p>To the social engineers bent on mass censorship, Alex Jones is the juiciest target possible.<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s bombastic; he\u2019s flamboyant; he often comes off, frankly, as an unhinged lunatic. That\u2019s his brand.<\/p>\n<div class=\"twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered\"><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" class=\"\" title=\"Twitter Tweet\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=eyJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9iYWNrZW5kIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9mZiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfcmVmc3JjX3Nlc3Npb24iOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib24iLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3R3ZWV0X3Jlc3VsdF9taWdyYXRpb25fMTM5NzkiOnsiYnVja2V0IjoidHdlZXRfcmVzdWx0IiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19zZW5zaXRpdmVfbWVkaWFfaW50ZXJzdGl0aWFsXzEzOTYzIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6ImludGVyc3RpdGlhbCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2R1cGxpY2F0ZV9zY3JpYmVzX3RvX3NldHRpbmdzIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9mZiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9mcm9udGVuZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvZmYiLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfX0%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1553513646403121152&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thedailybell.com%2Fall-articles%2Fnews-analysis%2Ftoday-they-come-for-alex-jones-tomorrow-for-all-of-us%2F&amp;sessionId=5717c87652068dd5406823f5b51fec7c24ba3776&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=b7df0f50e1ec1%3A1659558317797&amp;width=550px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-tweet-id=\"1553513646403121152\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Jones\u2019 demeanor assists the corporate state in demonizing and framing him as a unique danger.<\/p>\n<p>But, for all his theatrics, Jones has been prescient about a hell of a lot \u2013 from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thedailybell.com\/all-articles\/news-analysis\/alex-jones-deserves-a-national-monument\/\">blowing the whistle back in the day on warrant-free mass-scale NSA spying<\/a> way before the Snowden leaks to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thedailybell.com\/all-articles\/news-analysis\/alex-jones-was-right-about-the-gay-frogs-the-corporate-media-got-it-wrong-on-purpose\/\">toxic water causing chemical castration<\/a> to the mRNA \u201cvaccine\u201d fraud back in 2020 when they were still in development.<\/p>\n<p>On many of the foremost issues of interest to libertarians and dissidents more broadly, Jones has been the quintessential canary in the coal mine.<\/p>\n<p>The insight he offers from his independent platform, which can\u2019t be co-opted or controlled, is why the state (and the media it controls) hates him. His current legal persecution is retribution for not toeing the line. The Empire strikes back.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n<p>Alex Jones is the bellwether: whatever happens to him will subsequently befall a broader swathe of the anti-establishment press.<\/p>\n<p>In 2018, Alex Jones was the first target of mass social media censorship when he was deplatformed from every major social media network overnight. In justification, he was framed as the exception to free speech \u2013 so beyond the pale as to warrant extraordinary measures to silence his dangerous voice.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Infowars debate: Should it have been banned?\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/IExFSpWI0xE?feature=oembed\" width=\"550\" height=\"309\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The mere idea of a national debate in corporate media regarding the censorship of \u201cfar-right\u201d media figures in 2022 is inconceivable \u2013 it\u2019s now just accepted as standard operating procedure.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, Jones\u2019 banning was merely a taste of things to come. In the aftermath, scores of other, less notorious subversive figures got the boot.<\/p>\n<p>The precedent is set. Watch default judgments for independent media outlets that do the wrong kind of reporting become the \u201cnew normal.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Ben Bartee is an independent Bangkok-based American journalist with opposable thumbs. Follow his stuff via <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.armageddonprose.com\/subscribe\/\">Armageddon Prose<\/a><\/strong> and\/or\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/armageddonprose.substack.com\/\">Substack<\/a><\/strong>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/benbartee\">Patreon<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/gab.com\/benbartee\">Gab<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ArmageddonProse\">Twitter<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-127158","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127158","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=127158"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127158\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=127158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=127158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=127158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}