Conservative radio host Alex Jones plans to sue the January 6 select committee to block the release of his phone records and the panel from compelling his testimony at next month’s deposition.
Jones said he intends to plead the Fifth Amendment against self-incrimination and added that the committee rejected his offer to provide written answers to its questions.
He said the panel asked him to appear for a deposition on January 10 and suggested it’s considering offering immunity. He added that he doesn’t intend to produce documents because his “journalistic activity” is protected under the First Amendment. Jones runs the right-wing website InfoWars, which has frequently been shown to fabricate its stories.
The panel is seeking his phone records from his carrier, AT&T.
The lawsuit is the latest in wild litigation by targets of the January 6 committee seeking to prevent them from enforcing its subpoenas and obtaining phone records. Several organizers of the Jan. 6 rally that preceded the violent attack at the Capitol have jointly sued the panel.
The “Stop the Steal” movement founder, Ali Alexander, has sued. So has Amy Harris, a freelance photographer who was working on a project about the Proud Boys.
Jones led hundreds of supporters on a march to the Capitol on January 6 but is not accused of any related crimes. However, Owen Shroyer, who accompanied Jones for most of January 6, is facing misdemeanor charges for breaching police lines at the Capitol.
