Sen. Marco Rubio had a tense run-in with conspiracy theorist Alex Jones Wednesday outside a hearing with Facebook and Twitter about foreign interference on social media.
Video shows Jones, the creator of far-right media outlet InfoWars, interrupt the Florida Republican as he spoke to reporters during a break in Senate Intelligence Committee proceedings.
Rubio attempts to laugh off Jones. Jones then mocks Rubio’s laugh and continues to interrupt. At one point, Jones puts his hand on Rubio’s shoulder.
“Hey, don’t touch me again man, I’m asking you do not touch me,” Rubio tells Jones.
“Well sure, I just patted you nicely,” Jones says.
When Jones asks if he is going to get arrested, Rubio responds, “You’re not gonna get arrested man, I’ll handle it myself.”
“Marco Rubio just threatened to beat me up,” Jones tells his camera crew.
“I didn’t say that,” Rubio says.
“Oh he’ll beat me up,” Jones says. “Oh he’s so mad. You’re not going to silence me, you’re not going to silence America.”
As Rubio leaves reporters, Jones continues to berate the Senator, calling him a “little gangster thug” and a “frat boy.”
Jones is the founder and host of InfoWars, a far-right website that peddles conspiracy theories. A Texas judge recently denied Jones’ motion to dismiss a defamation lawsuit brought against him by the parents of a child killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting. Jones has claimed the shooting was staged by the government in an effort to push gun control efforts, and that parents of the slain children were so-called “crisis actors.”
After intense backlash, Facebook and Twitter recently suspended and removed Jones’ content for violating terms of service, Jones claims the companies are attempting to censure him.
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