The developers of a Houston-area residential community are suing far-right radio host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones for defamation, after comments he made in a February video in which he called the community a "mortgage scam" that was "occupied" by immigrants without legal status, according to a new lawsuit.
The community, called Colony Ridge, filed the lawsuit this week in Liberty County, accusing Jones and Pete Chambers, who also spoke in the video, of disparaging their business and defaming them.
The allegations stem from a Feb. 6 video shared on X, which was titled "TEXAS TREASON ALERT," according to the lawsuit. The video was also shared on Infowars and Banned.Video, websites Jones operated until they were bought by The Onion and shut down earlier this month, as well as on TikTok.
In the video, Chambers stated Colony Ridge was known as "la Colonia" and that it was "occupied" by thousands of immigrants without legal status, according to the lawsuit. Jones and Chambers also allegedly called the development "a mortgage scam."
"Colony Ridge is about the people. We take seriously our responsibility to stand up for our residents and our community," Colony Ridge CEO John Harris said in a statement provided to Houston Public Media. “When powerful media figures knowingly spread lies about a community, there must be accountability. We will not sit by while Alex Jones, Pete Chambers, and Infowars use our residents as props in a disinformation campaign. The record must be corrected, and those responsible must answer for the real harm they have caused.”
Attorneys for Jones and Chambers, who ran for Texas governor this year and finished a distant second behind Gov. Greg Abbott in the Republican primary in March, did not immediately return a request for comment Friday.
Colony Ridge has been heavily scrutinized by government officials on allegations of predatory loans and deceptive advertising to Hispanic residents. On Feb. 10, just days after Jones' video was released, the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Colony Ridge settled a 2023 lawsuit. As part of the settlement, Colony Ridge agreed to pay $68 million and temporarily pause construction, but the community developers denied wrongdoing.
That same day in February, attorneys for Colony Ridge purportedly asked Jones and Chambers to "correct, clarify, or retract" the statements made in the video, according to the lawsuit. Jones allegedly removed the video from X, formerly known as Twitter, as a result, but it remained publicly available on Infowars, Banned.Video and TikTok.
Colony Ridge is asking for $10 million in damages.
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