Alex Jones says he invoked Fifth Amendment 'almost 100 times' before Jan. 6 panel

Right-wing radio host Alex Jones on Tuesday claimed to have followed through with his plan to invoke the Fifth Amendment during his deposition with the House Select Committee investigating Jan. 6, 2021, saying he he pled the Fifth "almost 100 times."

Speaking on his radio show, Jones said the remote deposition was "interesting" and characterized the questions that were asked as "pretty reasonable."

"And I wanted to answer the questions. But at the same time, it's a good thing I didn't," Jones said, according to NBC News.

According to Jones, his lawyer "told me almost 100 times today during the interrogation, 'on advice of counsel I am asserting my Fifth Amendment right to remain silent.'"

"And the media tells you that's because you're guilty, or because you're going to incriminate yourself but it's also just because it can be used to try to incriminate you and twist something against you," he added.

The Hill has reached out to the Jan. 6 committee for comment.

The panel subpoenaed Jones, along with others, in November, seeking information about the rallies and march on the Capitol that proceeded the attack on the building that day. Jones spoke at rallies on both Jan. 5 and 6 and facilitated a donation to provide what he described as "80 percent" of the funding for the rally near the White House on Jan. 6.

Chairman Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) said in a statement at the time that the committee believed Jones and other subpoenaed witnesses had "relevant information" on the events that led up to the deadly Capitol attack.

"Mr. Jones has repeatedly promoted unsupported allegations of election fraud, including encouraging individuals to attend the Ellipse rally on January 6th and implying he had knowledge about the plans of the former President with respect to the rally," the committee said.

In December, Jones filed a lawsuit against the panel and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) in an effort to stop them from requiring his testimony and obtaining his phone records. In his lawsuit, Jones informed the committee of his plans of invoking the Fifth Amendment and of raising First Amendment objections when the panels asked about "constitutionally protected political and journalistic activity."