Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones loses a soapbox after FCC seeks fine against pirate radio station
Alex Jones/Sean P. Anderson via Wikimedia Commons.
The pirate radio station used by Alex Jones to promote his conspiracy theories is no longer broadcasting over the airwaves after the Federal Communications Commission moved to enforce a fine for operating without a license.
The operators of Liberty Radio are refusing to pay the $15,000 fine or to recognize the FCC’s authority, the Austin American-Statesman reports in a story noted by the Washington Post.
A lawsuit filed in federal court in Austin, Texas, says the radio station has not had had a license to operate at 90.1 FM since at least 2013. Federal agents who received a complaint were able to trace the station’s signal to what appeared to be a maintenance or utility room in an apartment complex in Austin.
Liberty Radio stopped operating over the airwaves in December, though it continues to stream online, according to its website.
The FCC had fined Liberty Radio in 2014, and the defendants responded with a letter saying they would “forever decline your offer.” The FCC referred the matter to the Justice Department, which filed the suit this month.
Jones is facing a defamation suit filed by the parents of two children killed in 2012 at Sandy Hook Elementary School for claims that the Connecticut mass shooting was “a giant hoax.”
