Who is Alex Jones? Radio Host, Conspiracy Theorist, Piers Morgan Combatant

Alex Jones, who started a mushrooming national petition to deport CNN host Piers Morgan for calling for stricter U.S. gun controls, finally got his wish to appear on the British journalist’s show on Monday.

Although Morgan had invited Jones on to debate their opposing viewpoints, Jones held sway for nearly 12 minutes while unloading an ardent tirade about how Morgan was imposing on American’s rights to protect themselves from "thugs."

Jones grew more and more irate and eventually made the sweeping declaration: “1776 will commence again if you try to take our firearms. Doesn't matter how many lemmings you get out there on the street, begging for 'em to have their guns taken. We will not relinquish them. Do you understand? That's why you're going to fail, and the establishment knows, no matter how much propaganda, the republic will rise again."

This isn't the first time Jones has surfaced with extreme philosophies about the world. And all things considered, he’s a pretty interesting guy. Though he has hypothesized that the government was behind the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, he says he’s not a conspiracy theorist. Others tend to disagree.

Here are five things you show know about the man who wants to deport Piers Morgan:

Jones doesn’t limit his theories to 9/11: He has used his Texas-based public access channel “Infowars,” as well as a radio show that once aired on more than 100-plus affiliate stations and had more than 3 million listeners, to claim that the government was also behind the 1993 Oklahoma City bombing, comparing it to the Reichstag arson fire said to have given rise to Nazis in Germany, according to Slate. He has also claimed that the Gulf of Tonkin clash between American and North Vietnamese naval forces was a concerted event to bring the U.S. deeper into the Vietnam War. In a “1984” society in which Big Brother determines all aspects of life, terrorist attacks such as these were government-manufactured to make Americans more fearful and reliant on the government, Jones claimed.

Don’t call Jones a conservative: He calls himself a Libertarian and, more importantly, an "aggressive constitutionalist." On Twitter, he ardently declares "Harnessing the spirit of Thomas Jefferson & George Washington. Fighting for Freedom and Liberty from foreign banksters!"

Jones has sought public office: Along with nine other candidates, including seven Republicans, he tried in 2000 to take away Texas State Rep. Sherri Greenberg’s seat in Austin. He said he wanted "to be a watchdog [a person who makes sure no wrongdoing is taking place] on the inside," according to the Austin-American Statesman. However, he abandoned his campaign and withdrew before the March primary when polls indicated he had little chance of winning.

Jones is a busy guy: He has 31 films in the works. He has been making documentaries since 1998 and has come out with several each year since then. Topics range from "New World Order," about how politicians and celebrities are conspiring against the public, to lambasting President Barack Obama, to several films on 9/11. He also authored the book "9-11: Descent Into Tyranny" in 2002 and operates several websites, including Infowars.com, Prisonplanet.tv, Prisonplanet.com, and Jonesreport.com.

Jones' popularity has gone both ways: In 1999, he was voted "Best Austin Talk Radio Host" by The Austin Chronicle, along with host Shannon Burke. Later that year, though, he was fired by KJFK-FM, according to The Chronicle. The station's operations manager said he got the boot because his viewpoints made the show hard to sell to advertisers, and he refused to make his show's topics more mainstream. Following his 9/11 conspiracy theories, he lost a lot of radio affiliates for his other radio show after many considered his theories distasteful, coming so shortly after the attacks. Since that controversy, Jones has gained back many affiliates — more than 60 — and many of his listeners as well.