Brian Hagen tells his story to The Ex Conspiracy Theorist.
It was sometime in 2007, if my memory serves correctly, that I discovered Alex Jones. In my early 30s at that time, I had spent the majority of my life, starting around the age of 10, questioning the validity of authority. Aware of the term “libertarian,” and identifying with it in some vague way, I discovered Lew Rockwell, and his ilk, shortly after 9/11 at a time that I, like many others, watched as a horrifying tragedy was used to implement rights crushing laws while creating a storm of Islamophobia. MySpace began to bring me together with like minded thinkers, and we shared our thoughts (e.g. conspiracies) on what had happened, which led me to the broadcasts of Alex Jones. Finally! I had found a voice saying everything I wanted to say, exposing authority for what it was while spreading the message of this vague idea of liberty. Although somewhat wary of taking Jones' most outrageous claims literally, I was enthralled with 9/11 “truth,” chemtrails, etc. Dr. Ron Paul was making appearances on the program and that lent even more credibility, I thought, and I loved Jones' broadcast style. A professional broadcaster myself, I began interviewing some of Jones' guests on the station I worked for, talking conspiracies on-air whenever possible. Now, in 2018, I can only offer a mea culpa, and say in earnest how much I regret any of that.
People around me began to tell me I had changed, I had grown angry, paranoid; that I was no longer fun to be around, as everything in my world view was now a conspiracy. My views on Jones began to change around 2010 following a confrontation between Jones and two young activists I had gotten to know online, Catherine Bleish and John Bush. Unwilling to work with them during a rally they were holding on an Austin, TX street, Jones was belligerent, verbally assaulting Bleish after drowning out their rally. Using homophobic and sexist language during the confrontation, I began to doubt that Jones was who he claimed to be. Jones, around that time, had began growing his online marketplace, and the products being offered were becoming more questionable.
In 2012, I attended the Porcupine Liberty Festival, commonly called Porcfest, in New Hampshire. The annual event was a production of the Free State Project, an organization working to promote the relocation of libertarians from across the nation to the state of New Hampshire as a way to consolidate libertarian power. Thrilled to go to the event, I was asked by several attendees, whom I knew online and had now met in person, to be a part of a comedy sketch. We decided to mock Alex Jones. Playing the part of Jones while intoxicated, I was not aware of the anger of the crowd. It was later relayed to me that there were audible gasps of shock, and at least one threat of violence on my person from the performance. That was the final wake up call to me regarding what this Jones person was; a huckster demagogue who cared not about “liberty” but about maintaining some type of cult.
My views on conspiracies began to change; and while I still maintain a distrust for government, I am less inclined to believe wild tales of grand plans of domination. After having avoided Jones for sometime, Jones' move into right wing populism (after once constantly claiming there was no left or right), while pushing a position of clear bigotry, wasn't exactly a shock to me, having realized him to be a disingenuous salesman who preys on fear. As for Rockwell and his ilk, whom I mentioned as a gateway to Jones: I have also distanced myself from them, having come to realize they, too, peddle fear mixed with bigotry and racism. Those attitudes were never ones I could abide; and I can say honestly I don't regret my past, as it only served to cement who I am at my core; and my core has no room for such hatred.
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