Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones expressed bewilderment this week after the Supreme Court declined to hear his appeal of a $1.4 billion defamation judgment, despite three justices being appointed by his longtime ally Donald Trump.
Jones, who faces the judgment for repeatedly claiming the Sandy Hook massacre was a hoax perpetrated by crisis actors, apparently operated under the assumption his years of Trump worship would translate into judicial immunity. The Infowars host, who received a personal thank-you call from Trump after the 2016 election, had pinned his hopes on Justices Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett recognizing his service to the MAGA movement.
Sources close to Jones report he seemed genuinely perplexed that judicial appointments might involve judges who occasionally apply law rather than function as a partisan favor bank. The conspiracy theorist was a speaker at the January 5, 2021 rally where he proclaimed resistance to globalists, apparently unaware that "supporting the president" and "telling parents their murdered children were fake" occupy different legal categories.
"I backed him on birtherism. I supported the stolen election claims. I was there for every conspiracy," Jones reportedly told associates, ticking off his credentials. "And they won't even hear my case about how I merely suggested those dead six-year-olds were crisis actors?"
The irony has not been lost on observers: a man who built his career claiming everything is a conspiracy appears shocked to discover "rule of law" is not itself a conspiracy. The same court Jones celebrated for its conservative supermajority decided that terrorizing grieving parents might legally constitute defamation, regardless of how many times you praised the president who appointed them.
Legal scholars note Trump appointed 28% of all active federal judges, creating what Jones viewed as a judicial safety net for his brand of harassment. This advantage, he learned Tuesday, doesn't override the part where you have to prove your claims, or at least not lie about slaughtered children.
