Elon Musk reactivates Alex Jones’ X account after a five-year ban

Elon Musk on Sunday reinstated the account of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones on X, formerly Twitter, reneging on a year-ago vow to keep Jones off the social network.

Jones was previously suspended from Twitter in 2018 for violating the company’s “abusive behavior policy.” That suspension, deemed permanent under the company’s prior management, came as Jones faced a defamation lawsuit for spreading the false claim that the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was a hoax.

Musk’s decision to bring Jones back to X comes on the anniversary week of the Sandy Hook shooting.

Although 20 children and six educators were killed by a gunman at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Dec. 14, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut, Jones had falsely and repeatedly said on his show, Infowars, that the shooting never really happened, and was a staged event designed to bring about stricter gun laws.