GOP Senators Disassociate Themselves From Alex Jones, InfoWars

Republican senators distanced themselves from far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, who's the subject of widespread social media censorship and an FCC lawsuit (see 1808100025) and 1808150047). Some lawmakers said Thursday they don’t pay any attention to the InfoWars creator or were unfamiliar with his work.

“I believe in free speech, but you don’t have the right to yell 'fire' in a theater,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told us. Asked if the GOP should associate itself with Jones -- who has self-identified as Libertarian at times -- Graham said, “He’s not somebody any decent person should be associated with.”

Republican lawmakers in both chambers have spoken against perceived anti-conservative bias on social media platforms, including Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas; Reps. Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee; Jim Jordan, Ohio; and Kevin McCarthy, California. When platforms like Apple, Facebook and YouTube started removing InfoWars content, Cruz defended Jones, tweeting: “Who the hell made Facebook the arbiter of political speech? Free speech includes views you disagree with.”

After the takedowns, Jones requested a hearing before Congress to defend his right to free speech. Asked whether Jones should have the chance to appear before lawmakers, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., told us he hasn’t given any thought to the idea: “That is not something our committee has contemplated or considered doing.”

Thursday, none of the senators interviewed defended Jones. Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., told reporters he didn’t want to comment on Jones directly, but he discussed the “removal of poison from social media platforms.” Everyone can agree the poison is spreading, he said, but the difficulty is defining what's unfit for public discourse. Legislators need to sit down with social media representatives and discuss where to draw the line. “I’m rather fond of the First Amendment, and I don’t know where we draw the line right now,” he said. “It’s like trying to define pornography. It’s very, very hard. The First Amendment is sacred in America, and you’ve got to be careful when deciding who can exercise that right and who can’t.”

Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., told us she didn’t know who Jones was, and Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said he hasn’t “paid much attention” to the pundit. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., told us he has read about Jones, but he’s never watched or read any InfoWars content directly. “I have been aware of InfoWars,” Corker said. “I’ve never participated in reading one sentence or listening to one sentence of what they’ve had to say.”

The owners of an Austin pirate radio station that broadcast Jones’ radio show are being sued by federal officials to collect a $15,000 forfeiture ordered by the FCC in 2014, according to documents (in Pacer) filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. “The United States seeks the recovery of a forfeiture penalty assessed by the Federal Communications Commission,” said the complaint filed by U.S. Attorney John Bash.

Walter Olenick and Rae Nadler-Olenick responded to every FCC communication about their unauthorized broadcasting of Texas Liberty Radio with letters admitting ownership of the unlicensed signal and tower but disputing FCC authority, according to the complaint. “Neither of us is aware of any relevant commercial nexus with your company,” said one response from the Olenicks. “We feel absolutely no obligation to recognize any artificially imposed and irrelevant deadline for any response to you,” said one answer. The Olenicks repeatedly referred to the FCC as a “company” that couldn’t exercise any authority over their station without a written agreement with them, accused the agency of trespassing and mail fraud, and dug into the semantics of the word “Federal.”

“If doj [sic] thinks your bluff is worth them getting sued as well, we look forward to showing you people, very formally and publicly, the application side of ‘federal’ means ‘federal,’ as in ‘by agreement,’” said one response letter. Texas Liberty Radio’s website says the station’s tower is currently unavailable due to “circumstances beyond our control.”

Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., told us he likes the FCC’s decision: “It’s important to make sure there’s a standard.”