Gun control advocates and families of the Sandy Hook tragedy are asking NBC to pull an interview with “Infowars” radio host Alex Jones. The conspiracy theorist has said on numerous occasions that Sandy Hook was a hoax.
“Yeah, so Sandy Hook is synthetic, completely fake, with actors, in my view, manufactured. I couldn't believe it at first,” Jones said on his radio show in 2014.
Jones has since softened his stance on Sandy Hook somewhat, most recently conceding that "I don't know what happened."
Now the far-right conspiracy theorist, who in the past has claimed that the U.S. government was responsible for 9/11, and that the Apollo moon landing was staged by NASA, has been interviewed by NBC's Megyn Kelly.
Po Murray from the Newtown Action Alliance said her organization is calling on NBC to pull the interview.
“It impacts the families in such a negative way. They've been victimized once, and they're being re-victimized again,” Murray said. “And it's really disappointing and hurtful that NBC and Megyn Kelly would give Alex Jones and any other Sandy Hook denier some air time.”
Many took to Twitter to vent their anger over the interview, using the hashtags #ShameonMegynKelly and #ShameonNBC.
The family of first grade teacher Vicki Soto, who was killed in the Sandy Hook tragedy, wrote an open letter to NBC and Megyn Kelly on Facebook, saying Jones and his followers have "done nothing but make our lives a living hell for the last 4 1/2 years."
In a tweet, Kelly, a former Fox News host, defended the interview, saying, "Our job is to shine a light."
POTUS's been on & praises @RealAlexJones' show. He's giving Infowars a WH press credential. Many don't know him; our job is 2 shine a light. https://t.co/5e88BJyqnz— Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) June 12, 2017
The interview is scheduled to air this Sunday.
Copyright 2017 Connecticut Public
