Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on August 8, 2022

By PJ GrisarAugust 04, 2022

The prosecution in the Alex Jones defamation case revealed on Wednesday that the InfoWars hosts lawyers had accidentally sent them the contents of Jones phone. This leak would seem to be a career low for any attorney and yet, in a closing argument, the defense somehow went lower by citing a famous quote about silence during the Shoah in an effort to sway the jury.

Yes, in his closing argument, Jones lawyer Andino Reynal, who is representing his client in a case to determine how much Jones owes for calling the Sandy Hook massacre a hoax, concluded with a quote from German pastor Martin Niemller. Appealing to the jury, Reynal said that they were, in their verdict, speaking not just for themselves, but for the many who listen to Jones. By bringing up Niemller to make his case, Reynal was essentially saying that should their decision come with a hefty penalty for Jones, it would be a crackdown on consumer choice somehow tantamount to staying quiet while millions were murdered by the Nazis. (Bizarrely, Reynal also invoked the need for truth in their determination, an odd thing given Jones all but admitted he lied about Sandy Hook and may have perjured himself on the stand.)

Do you want to choose what you get to watch and listen to or do you want a plaintiffs attorney to decide for you? Reynal asked, before paraphrasing Niemllers words, which are prominently displayed at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

There was a Lutheran minister named Martin Niemller in the 1930s, and he was imprisoned in a concentration camp, Reynal said. When he got out he reflected on the fact that he had stood quiet. And he said, first they came for the communists, and I said Im not a communist and didnt do anything. Then they came for the trade unionists and I said Im not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I said, Im not a Jew. And when they came for me, there was no one left.

By now you may be thinking, Huh? Are we really using that quote in defense of a man who repeatedly denied the killing of 20 kids? Are we arguing that Jones, who has spotlighted antisemitic conspiracy theories on his show and blamed his many lawsuits on Holocaust survivor George Soros, will be the first victim in a line of silenced voices? Look, I can see some case to be made for people consuming the sort of media they want, but is the right to listen to InfoWars really on par with the right to not be imprisoned in a work camp or murdered on an industrial scale?

But, I suppose First they came for InfoWars, and I did not speak out because I did not listen to InfoWars doesnt quite pack the same wallop as the original. Then again, its hard to find a winning argument for a guy who said grieving parents lied about the murder of their children.

More here:

Wait, did Alex Jones lawyer really invoke the Holocaust to defend his client? - Forward

Category: Shoah
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