Alex Jones, the host of the Infowars radio show and an influential far-right conspiracy theorist, lost sole custody of his three children to his ex-wife in an Austin, Texas courtroom on Thursday.
A jury deliberated for about nine hours before deciding to hand joint custody of the kids to ex-wife Kelly Jones, The Austin American-Statesman newspaper reported.
The decision means that the Infowars host will share custody of the children, ages 9, 12 and 14, but Kelly now has the right to choose her home as the children’s primary residence.
Alex will retain visitation rights, but Kelly said she wants the children to move in with her in order to adjust to a new living arrangement before their father starts seeing them more often.
In closing arguments, Kelly’s lawyers cast the host as a “master manipulator” and “cult leader” who had turned the children against their mother, while Alex’s lawyers said his ex-wife was unstable and had accused the court system of being biased against her, BuzzFeed reported.
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During the trial, Alex’s lawyers defended the Infowars personality by saying that his heated delivery on his radio show was “performance art.”
The court, however, largely declined to make his media personality a part of the trial, rejecting evidence such as video clips that showed him ranting and without a shirt.
A unidentified juror who spoke to the Statesman said deliberations took so long because they felt both Alex and Kelly were good parents.
Infowars, he said, played no role in their decision.
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