The allegation was filed with DC police by Kylie Jane Kremer, executive director of the organization Women for America First, a group that helped organize a series of post-election rallies, including one in a park south of the White House that preceded the Capitol riot on January 6.
Kremer told police that on December 11 someone "threatened to shove her off the stage at her event" scheduled for the following day, according to a police incident report. That report does not name Jones, but four sources familiar with the incident, three of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, said Jones -- who spreads conspiracy-theory-laden content through the website InfoWars -- made the alleged threat.
The fourth source, Scott Johnston, who was driving Kremer that day, told CNN that he witnessed Jones' alleged threat to Kremer and has spoken to police during their investigation.
The allegation highlights the way that some influencers within the "Stop the Steal" movement at times clashed even as they shared a goal of rallying support to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
The case of alleged "threats to do bodily harm" remains under active investigation, a spokesperson for Washington's Metropolitan Police Department told CNN. The spokesperson declined to confirm whether Jones was a subject of the investigation or provide further details about the investigation.
Asked about the alleged threat, a spokesperson for Women for America First, Chris Barron, said, "The police report speaks for itself."
An attorney for Jones, Marc Randazza, told CNN that his client denies threatening Kremer. Randazza did not respond to a question asking whether Jones had spoken to law enforcement about the incident.
The alleged threat occurred outside the Willard Intercontinental hotel, located about two blocks from the White House, according to the police report.
Johnston, who said he had been assisting organizers with Women for America First, told CNN he witnessed Jones confront Kremer on December 11 and that he remembers Jones saying he would push her off a stage.
Johnston said he drove Kremer to the hotel and as they were unloading luggage outside the hotel, Jones approached.
"He kept yelling, 'I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna do it. I'm going to take over,' you know, words along those lines," he said.
Johnston said he perceived Jones' statements as a threat because he had witnessed Jones rush a stage at a prior event.
Johnston added he spoke to law enforcement about the December 11 incident after it occurred and that a detective called him again in January and asked for more information regarding Jones.
On December 12, Kremer and others spoke from a stage that featured the Women for America First logo in Washington's Freedom Plaza and riled up a crowd of Trump supporters with false claims of mass election fraud.
Jones spoke on a separate stage on the National Mall at a "Jericho March" event, where he declared, "This is the beginning of the great revival before the anti-Christ comes."
Later that afternoon, a crowd gathered near the Supreme Court, where Women for America First had a podium set up.
Jones said he had a confrontation with individuals running security near that podium on December 12, according to video posted by Jones' program, which shows a man wearing a security lanyard putting his hand on Jones' arm and saying, "You're not allowed to be here."
Jones responded with a number of expletives before saying he and those with him would leave. He then shouted, "1776!"
Jones explained the incident on his show by saying, "I was going to the Supreme Court building yesterday because I heard there was going to be a rally that I was invited to. Didn't really even know who was really doing it."
"It's not like I was trying to go to some event with a thousand people and take it over," he said.
Jones emerged as a prominent figure in the broader "Stop the Steal" movement after November's election. He traveled to cities including Phoenix and Atlanta, and repeatedly used inflammatory rhetoric to bolster the movement's false claims.
He also helped kick off some of the organizational efforts that eventually materialized into the "Stop the Steal" rally on January 6, according to a grassroots organizer who filed the permits. That organizer, Cindy Chafian, previously told CNN that Jones had reached out to her "to make sure he was able to speak at an event that he had contributed to."
Chafian said she originally submitted event permits while working for Women for America First but later embarked on her own in organizing a January 6 event and eventually teamed up with Jones.
Jones delivered another speech in Washington on January 5 in which he told the pro-Trump crowd, "The system has had to desperately engage in this gambit to maintain control. But this will be their Waterloo. This will be their destruction."
Kremer's allegation is not the first time Jones has faced scrutiny for threatening language.
In July, the Connecticut Supreme Court affirmed a sanction against Jones related to statements he had made about an attorney for Sandy Hook families, who filed suit against Jones for advancing conspiracy theories about the 2012 mass shooting. The court said that, speaking of opposing counsel on a radio broadcast, Jones had said, "One million dollars to put your head on a pike."
"We recognize that there is a place for strong advocacy in litigation, but language evoking threats of physical harm is not tolerable," the court's chief justice wrote.
"stage" - Google News
March 13, 2021 at 06:01AM
https://ift.tt/3rHV4RX
Alex Jones allegedly threatened to throw Trump rally organizer off a stage - CNN
"stage" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2xC8vfG
https://ift.tt/2KXEObV
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Alex Jones allegedly threatened to throw Trump rally organizer off a stage - CNN"
Post a Comment