Alex Jones — a popular right-wing conspiracy theorist — claimed that the White House asked him to lead the U.S. Capitol Hill march on Jan. 6. He also said that his media company InfoWars paid for the rally that resulted in violence at the government building in Washington D.C.
Jones made the claims in a video that was filmed in D.C. when the insurrection happened. In the video, he detailed his participation in the rally.
"When I tell you this, it's not to brag about my connection to this embattled president. No one would book the Ellipse, no one would book the other areas. No one would pay for it. We went and paid for it," Jones said. "Thank God a donor came in and paid like 80 percent of it. Because it cost close to half a million dollars, with all the equipment, all the stages and the rest of it. Port-a-Potties, you name it."
Jones also claimed the White House asked him to lead the Capitol Hill rally. According to him, the Secret Service initially planned to escort Jones through thousands of President Donald Trump's supporters present at this speech in Ellipse. However, the plan was called off due to a large number of people. The White House is yet to comment on Jones' claims.
"The White House told me three days before, we're going to have you lead the march," Jones said. "And Trump will tell people, go and I'm going to meet you at the Capitol. But there was a million people outside. So by the time I got out there ... there were already hundreds of thousands of people ahead of me marching."
Apart from this, Jones also said that "antifa" infiltered the protest to cause violence — a claim widely peddled by right-wing activists.
"And so, by the time I got out there 20 minutes, 30 minutes before Trump finished his speech there were already hundreds of thousands of people ahead of me marching. And before Trump ever took the stage, antifa, dressed up - over a hundred of them - as patriots, was there," he said.
However, the FBI assistant director Steven D'Antuono clarified that there was "no indication" that antifa was involved in the insurrection.
Jones' estranged wife Kelly Morales shared his video on Twitter and urged the FBI to investigate his claims. Jones is a well-known face in the right-wing and is known to promote bizarre conspiracy theories including the one where he claimed Trump — who was diagnosed with Covid-19 last October — left Walter Reed Army Medical Center because there was "mounting evidence" that the President was being "deliberately killed" the military hospital.
