WASHINGTON — Alex Jones accosted Sen. Marco Rubio as he was being interviewed outside a Senate hearing examining the practices of Facebook and Twitter — with the senator at one point telling the conspiracy theorist he wouldn’t call the cops because “I can take care of you myself.” “Is that a heckler at a press conference?” asked Rubio, as Jones repeatedly interrupted a gaggle the Florida Republican was having with reporters during a break. It only grew more heated from there. “I just don’t know who you are, man,” Rubio said. “Sure, sure, they demonize me in these hearings and then he plays dumb,” Jones replied, before plugging his notorious InfoWars website. “Marco Rubio, the snake; a little frat boy here.” Rubio turned and faced Jones: “Who are you, man? Who is this guy? I swear to God I don’t know who you are, man.” Jones then patted Rubio on the back, prompting a sharp response. “Don’t touch me again,” the senator warned, while continuing his interview with TV reporters. “I’m asking you not to touch me again. I don’t know you, I don’t know who you are.” Jones then interrupted again and asked if Rubio was going to have him arrested. “You’re not going to get arrested, I can take care of you myself,” Rubio retorted. Jones proceeded to call the Cuban-American politician “a little gangster thug.” Facing a sustained storm of criticism, Apple, Facebook and other tech giants recently reversed course and banned Jones from their websites and platforms over his baseless claims about the tragic slaughter of elementary school students in Sandy Hook, Connecticut. ; the Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando, Forida; and the Sept. 11th terrorist attacks. He was also one of the driving figures behind the “Pizzagate” conspiracy theory, which alleged Bill and Hillary Clinton and their top aides were somehow connected to a non-existent child exploitation ring run out of tunnels under a Washington, DC, pizza shop, which in reality has no basement. Jones was forced to apologize after a man called Edgar Welch drove from North Carolina to the nation’s capital and shot up the pizza shop as he attempted to “self-investigate” the theory. Welch pleaded guilty to firearms charges and was sentenced to four years in prison. Twitter is one of the few social media networks that has allowed Jones and his InfoWars website to keep publishing on its platform. However, that came after Twitter suspended Jones for seven days for violating its policies. Jones, who claims he has been censored, said he was in Washington to “face his accusers” and demand that conservative and libertarian voices be heard. President Trump accused the tech companies of filtering conservative news in favor of liberal publications.<doc-sep>Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones had a tense exchange in the Senate hallway during a break of the Senate Intelligence Committee’s hearing with Facebook and Twitter leaders on Wednesday. Jones, who sat in on the hearing, crashed a scrum Rubio was holding with reporters, and the pair nearly came to blows. Jones, an alt-right figure with a broad reach online, has complained that social media sites have censored him after multiple platforms, including Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter, banned or removed his content. He attended Wednesday’s hearing, he said, to “face his accusers,” and during the break he approached Rubio while the senator was addressing reporters and broke into Rubio’s comments repeatedly. Jones pushed the senator to address concerns that conservative and far-right voices are being silenced online. At first, Rubio tried to ignore Jones and talked over him. Jones called him a “frat boy” and a “snake.” Jones also plugged his website, Infowars.com. Rubio laughed him off, saying he didn’t know who Jones was — until Jones made physical contact, apparently touching him on the shoulder. Heated exchange between Rubio and Alex Jones in the Senate hallway — Jones crashes a Rubio interview and touches Rubio's shoulder. Rubio tells Jones not touch him again, says he'll "take care of you myself" rather than calling the police. — Will Sommer (@willsommer) September 5, 2018 “Don’t touch me again, man. I’m asking you not to touch me,” Rubio said. “Well, sure, I just patted you nicely,” Jones said. “I know, but I don’t want to be touched,” Rubio said. “I don’t know who you are.” Jones talked over him, saying he wanted him to be arrested, and Rubio said he didn’t know who Jones was. “You’re not going to get arrested, man. You’re not going to get arrested; I’ll take care of you myself,” Rubio said. Jones, surprised, looked at reporters and said, “Oh, he’ll beat me up.” He told Rubio he wasn’t “going to silence me” and called him “a little gangster thug.” Cassandra Fairbanks, another far-right personality, captured the exchange on Periscope, the streaming service Twitter owns. Wow, this video. Alex JONES calls RUBIO a "frat boy" and touches Rubio on the shoulder. Rubio tells Jones not to touch him and that he won't be arrested because I'll "take care of you myself. "https://t.co/AGRMrDBMGa — Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) September 5, 2018 It was a bizarre moment, but also a symbolic one: Rubio is a “reform conservative” who’s perpetually trying to change the subject from President Donald Trump to talk about policy. Jones is a far-right conspiracy theorist whose show hosted Trump during his campaign for the Republican nomination. But the contrast between the two styles on the right usually doesn’t almost come to blows. Jones, fellow far-right activist Laura Loomer, and internet troll Chuck Johnson all attended the hearing, which featured Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, apparently in an attempt to draw attention to themselves and the fact that they’ve been banned from social media platforms for violating their rules. (Vox’s Jane Coaston has a complete explainer on Jones being banned from tech platforms.) Inside the hearing, their behavior was tame; outside, as Jones’s exchange with Rubio shows, not so much. Today is historic. I am inside the Senate building on Capitol Hill with @RealAlexJones for the Social media hearings. Together we stand against big tech censorship. Today we stand for the Silent Majority! You can’t bully us @jack @facebook! #StopTheBias pic.twitter.com/uga6IdHmZe — Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) September 5, 2018 Rubio later described the experience, saying he saw “some scrubby guy walk up to me” and start “acting all crazy.” He said he knew of Jones, just not what he looked like. Sen. Marco Rubio describes being heckled by Alex Jones outside Senate hearing room this morning: "I see some scrubby guy walk up to me, step to me, acting all crazy. I didn't know who he was. I know the name, I know all the crazy stuff, I just don't know what he looks like." — Alex Bolton (@alexanderbolton) September 5, 2018 He also questioned the amount of press coverage Jones and others on the far right get. “I know you’ve got to cover them, but you give these guys way too much attention,” he said. “We’re making crazy people superstars. So, we [are] going to get crazier people.”<doc-sep>WASHINGTON – An interview with Sen. Marco Rubio outside a hearing focused on social media devolved into schoolyard taunts Wednesday when far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones repeatedly interrupted the Florida Republican and patted him on the shoulder. "Don't touch me again, man," Rubio told Jones, who runs the conspiracy site Infowars. "I'm asking you not to touch me again." "I was just patting you nicely," Jones responded. "What, you want me to get arrested?" Rubio fired back: "You're not going to get arrested. I'll take care of you myself." Video of the exchange was captured by several news cameras, including NBC, and was widely shared on social media. Before the exchange, Jones was heard repeatedly interrupting Rubio's answers to reporters' questions. Jones attended a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing focused on whether Facebook and Twitter have done enough to counter the influence of foreign actors on their websites, including Russia, who are attempting to influence U.S. elections. The tech execs also faced questions about whether the companies are attempting to silence conservative voices on their platforms. Jones has complained that Facebook and other sites have banned his content. Jones attempted to confront Dorsey after the hearing, according to reports on social media.<doc-sep>
In a flagrant display of toxic masculinity on both sides, Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Infowars conspiracy theorist Alex Jones had a heated confrontation on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, September 5. During a tense back-and-forth, Rubio threatened to “take care of” Jones after he touched the Florida senator’s shoulder and Jones made homophobic comments to Rubio. Jones and Rubio were outside a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing where senators dug into Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. Jones was there to continue peddling the false narrative that Twitter and Facebook have been shadow banning and censoring him and other conservatives from their sites, and also, apparently, to have a bro-down showdown with Senator Rubio. During a press gaggle outside the hearing, Jones began asking Rubio questions about the “purge” of shadow banning on social media. Rubio ignored most of Jones’s advances, saying he didn’t know who he was. “Is that a heckler at a press gaggle?” Rubio joked. Jones attempted to take the spotlight away from Rubio, who laughed and said “dumb-*ss” at one point. Then, when Jones touched his shoulder, the senator glared at him and warned him not to touch him again. “Hey, don’t touch me again, man. I’m asking you not to touch me again,” Rubio said with a harsh look in his eyes. “Well, sir, I just patted you nicely,” responded Jones, whose history of provocation includes promoting conspiracy theories about the Sandy Hook shooting. “I know, but I don’t want to be touched. I don’t know you. I don’t know who you are,” said Rubio, who has been the subject of viral moments before, like when a Parkland survivor directly confronted him about his campaign contirubtions from the NRA. That’s when Jones asked if he was going to be arrested for touching the senator. “You're not gonna get arrested, man,” Rubio said. “I'll take care of it myself.” The incident escalated, with Jones accusing Rubio of threatening to beat him up. Jones told Rubio that he wouldn’t silence him or America, and called him “a little gangster thug” and “a little frat boy.” Rubio’s height has been a target for loud men who like to name-call before. Because an Alex Jones encounter isn't complete without him using homophobic slurs, he ended the confrontation by instructing Rubio to “go back to the bathhouse. Compromise in the bathhouses. There goes Rubio. Little punk.” Psychologists have linked toxic masculinity to anger and misogyny and homophobia. But it doesn’t take a doctor to see that both of these man ended up looking like fools. Later on Wednesday, Rubio tried to take the higher road and chastised journalists for reporting on Jones at all, according to CNN. “I know you’ve got to cover them, but you give these guys way too much attention,” said Rubio, who has famously stooped to another man’s level in the past. Get the Teen Vogue Take. Sign up for the Teen Vogue weekly email. Want more from Teen Vogue? Check this out: "Sailor Socialism" Dasha Nekrasova Explains Her Viral Infowars Interview