But others close to Jones during this time said that despite a growing audience, the broadcaster was insecure. Two former colleagues said Jones reserved his greatest resentment for Rush Limbaugh. The jealousy was so intense that Jones began to crib his now-famous crushed gravel voice from the talk radio legend. “We’d spend weeks getting everything just right in the studio,” a former employee recalled. “Then he’d go for a drive and hear Rush again and say, ‘I need my voice to sound something like that.’ And so we’d completely re-engineer the sound to make him gruffer.”

Former Infowars employees suggested that Jones’ secret fear was that his opposition would someday run out — especially if Obama lost re-election. One recalled Jones pacing back and forth on Election Day in 2012, nervous over the prospect of losing the polarizing president that had helped usher in ratings gold.

“He just kept saying, ‘Oh my God, if Obama loses, we’re out of business,’” the employee said. “One of the guys in there asked, ‘You didn’t vote for Obama, did you?’ And Alex said nothing. Just a grimace. I don’t know what it meant.” A member of Jones’ staff during the 2012 election speculated that he would do anything for the sake of his show. “I personally think he voted for Obama to keep ratings going,” another former employee said. A third employee recalled Jones dropping hints that he was planning to cast his vote for Obama.