Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones expected at Houston Methodist protest Saturday
INFOWars host and noted conspiracy theorist Alex Jones is expected to protest on Saturday the firings of numerous Houston Methodist Hospital employees over the hospital chain’s recent COVID-19 vaccine requirements, according to the protest organizer.
On Friday, the lead plaintiff in a now-tossed lawsuit against Methodist, Jennifer Bridges, appeared on Jones’ show. Bridges, who is organizing the Saturday rally and was until this week a nurse at the hospital’s Baytown location, said Jones told her he was likely to join protesters outside Methodist’s main Houston location.
Bridges said it was her second appearance on the show, and that she’s been listening to Jones’ show for at least a few months.
She said she doesn’t agree with many of his takes, but didn’t cite specifics.
“I just respect the fact he has got a lot of strong views and he doesn’t back down,” Bridges said. “He calls people out when they do something wrong, and I appreciate that.”
Jones has been heavily criticized for deploying and amplifying “us vs. them”-style rhetoric at a time of tense political debate and fracture. Jones has previously questioned whether the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was faked as part of a big-government conspiracy.
His website was as recently as Friday making similar, outlandish claims, including that so-called “false flag attacks” maybe used to conceal an unfounded and repeatedly debunked conspiracy to steal the 2020 presidential election from Donald Trump.
Last month Bridges and more than 170 other Methodist employees filed a lawsuit in which they claimed the hospital’s requirement that all employees be fully vaccinated violated their right to not partake in a medical clinical trial without their consent.
The plaintiffs argued vaccines have not been proven safe, and objected to Methodist’s promise to fire any employee that wasn’t inoculated as of this week.
U.S. District Court Judge Lynn Hughes ultimately tossed the suit and chided the arguments made by the plaintiffs.
The hospital announced 153 firings or resignations on Tuesday.
Twenty-seven of the 178 employees who were suspended for two weeks without pay as a result of the requirement earlier this month had already received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. The hospital said then that those employees would no longer be at risk of termination if they receive their second during the suspension.
On Tuesday, a Methodist spokesperson said a portion of the employees “became compliant with the policy.” Some chose to resign during the two-week suspension period, the spokesperson said.
Asked about the affiliation between her group and right-wing political actors, Bridges said her motivation was about one thing: Reversing Methodist’s policy.
“This has nothing to do with politics,” she said. “I’m not affiliated with any one side. I just appreciate every one coming together to fight for this cause.”
robert.downen@chron.com
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