- Conspiracy theorist and Infowars founder Alex Jones has been accused by two of his former employees of workplace harassment, racism, and sexual misconduct.
- Jones allegedly called a Jewish former employee anti-Semitic names and repeatedly discriminated against black former employee, whom he also allegedly groped.
- Jones and Infowars have become influential outlets on the right, and Jones claims he has spoken to President Donald Trump several times since the 2016 election.
Alex Jones, the notorious host of the right-wing conspiracy website Infowars, has been accused of using anti-Semitic and racial slurs to refer to two of his former employees, including one woman who also claimed Jones "grabbed her behind," according to the Daily Mail.
One of the former employees, former video editor Rob Jacobson, who is Jewish, alleged that Jones bullied him repeatedly for his background, calling him anti-Semitic names like "The Jewish Individual," "The Resident Jew," and "Yacobson." The other employee, former production assistant Ashley Beckford, claimed Jones once grabbed her by her behind as he was giving her a hug, saying, "Who wouldn't want to have a black wife?"
Beckford, who is black, said Infowars was a toxic work environment.
"I also was subjected to harassment and racial slurs by Respondent's management and some peer colleagues, as well as subjected to sexual harassment and a hostile, sexually offensive work environment," Beckford said, referring to Jones.
Beckford also claimed she was called a "coon" by senior members of the staff and said she was actively treated differently than other employees because of her race.
"I was subjected to different terms and conditions of employment, in comparison to my non-Black African-American peers, when it came to my salary/wages and benefits (travel), and in regards to my dress, including my hair style," Beckford stated.
Both former employees have already reportedly filed an Equal Employment Opportunity complaint against Jones. While Beckford had only joined the site's staff in June 2016, Jacobson had reportedly been working at Infowars for 13 years before being fired in May 2017.
Jones and Infowars emerged as powerful right-wing brands amid the 2016 presidential campaign and even helped to elect him, according to former campaign adviser to President Donald Trump, Roger Stone. They have continued to play an influential role in conspiracy circles, and Trump has reportedly used Infowars as a news source.
Jones claimed that Trump personally called him to thank him following his surprise electoral win in November 2016, and Jones said Trump spoke with him several times as recently as late 2017 and early 2018.
Infowars has pushed several prominent conspiracy theories over the years, including that the Sandy Hook shooting in 2012 was a hoax, that the September 11, 2001 attacks were an inside job, and that former President Barack Obama was the global head of the terrorist group Al Qaeda.