A defense lawyer for radio host Alex Jones said in a Texas child custody hearing that the prominent right-wing conspiracy theorist is a "performance artist."

According to The Austin American-Statesman, attorney Randall Wilhite said in a pretrial hearing that Jones' angry rants against the government should not be used against him in the case.

Wilhite likened the idea to focusing on Jack Nicholson's performance as The Joker in "Batman" to make a point about the star actor's character.

"He’s playing a character. He is a performance artist," Wilhite said about Jones, who is battling his ex-wife, Kelly Jones, over the custody of their three children.

Jury selection in the case is starting today.

Kelly Jones argued that Jones' statements on his Infowars broadcasts show him to be "unstable" and make him unfit to be a parent.

She also called out his expletive-laced rant from two weeks ago in which he threatened Democrat U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff (CA) and used homophobic slurs.

Jones has millions listeners and has been criticized for perpetuating conspiracy theories about 9/11 and the Sandy Hook school shootings and for helping to start the Pizzagate fake news controversy.

Watch the legal discussion about the case on "Happening Now" above.

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