Conservative broadcaster Alex Jones warned of potential terrorist attacks coming to the United States in the wake of Hamas' recent attack on Israel.
During an appearance on Steve Bannon's War Room podcast, Jones said "America has the same problem" as Israelis who thought they were safe due to their technologically-advanced defenses.
On October 7, Hamas led the deadliest Palestinian militant attack on Israel in history. Israel subsequently launched its heaviest ever airstrikes on Gaza. As of Tuesday, over 1,400 people had been killed in Israel, the Associated Press reported. At least 2,778 people had been killed in Gaza, according to authorities there, the AP said. However, this number was taken before an explosion at Al-Alhi Hospital that killed at least 500 people, according to Gaza officials.
Jones, without offering evidence, told Bannon he feels it's "only a matter of when not if" there will be an attack on the U.S. similar to what Israel experienced.
"Maybe the Israelis had thought they were safe with the Iron Dome and all their high-tech security, and maybe they were that delusional that [thought] they were safe, so I'll say again: America has the same problem," Jones said.
He then warned about migrants coming into the country.
"We brought millions of these people in. You now see them boiling out on U.S. cities, including in Texas, like ants out of an anthill or bees out of a beehive. And they're openly joining Black Lives Matter [and] saying, 'Overthrow America,'" Jones said. "Any way you slice it, these people on average are not going to assimilate. They are only going to try and conquer us, they're allies of the Democratic party...That's another reason the border must be shut, and we need to deport all these people now."
He added: "When and if there are terror attacks in this country—I think it's only a matter of when not if, we all need to hold the FBI and the Justice Department responsible..."
In an email statement to Newsweek on Friday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reassured the public that "encounters of known or suspected terrorists attempting to cross the Southern Border, or encounters of those associated with such individuals, are uncommon."
Its statement continued: "While the trend of increased migration from South America is a major factor in these increased encounters, regardless of the cause, DHS is and always will work tirelessly to screen, vet, and prevent anyone who poses a threat from entering the country." The department added that it works with international entities "to share intelligence and other information, including to prevent individuals on the terrorist watchlist from entering the United States."
"Our multilayered border security efforts include various screening and vetting processes that work to detect and prevent individuals who pose national security or public safety risks from entering the United States," DHS said.
The department also mentioned security measures, including "biometric and biographic screening and vetting."
"CBP [Customs and Border Protection] screens and vets every individual encountered, and if an individual is determined to pose a potential threat to national security or public safety, in coordination with the Joint Terrorism Taskforce (JTTF), we either deny admission, detain, remove, or refer them to other federal agencies for further vetting and prosecution as appropriate," DHS said.
Newsweek reached out to the Department of Justice via email for comment on Thursday.
Jones owns the website InfoWars and is known for spreading conspiracy theories. He has been found liable in multiple lawsuits filed by families of the Sandy Hook school shooting victims after Jones made unfound claims that the 2012 incident was a "hoax." He has been ordered to pay $1.5 billion in damages, but media reports say he has thus far refused to do so.
He recently stirred controversy during a September appearance on a Russian state-owned television channel when he compared the "control" of some of America's wealthiest people to the terrorists behind the 9/11 attacks.
Jones accused "oligarchs" like "Klaus Schwab and Bill Gates" of running the United States, claiming without evidence that they are "arresting everybody" and that "our country is captured."
"They are so used to wielding American power, of the country they've hijacked, like hijackers who take over an airplane," Jones said on the show. "They're flying the American airplane into the building—like 9/11—that is Russia. And so I'm trying to stop that."
Update 10/20/23, 5:29 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from the Department of Homeland Security.
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