“On Jan. 6, Nevada personal injury attorney Joey Gilbert stood on the Capitol steps leading to the U.S. Senate and implored far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones to join him above the sea of rioters. ‘Alex! Come up here!’ Gilbert shouted, bundled in a peacoat and purple scarf. A video of the violent protest then shows Gilbert worming his way after Jones, chanting ‘1776!’ and angling for attention among the bodyguards surrounding the internet entertainer. He didn’t get it. After asking the crowd to be peaceful and leading a brief ‘U-S-A!’ chant, Jones and Jan. 6 organizer Ali Alexander moved elsewhere. Soon, a group of Oath Keepers militia members ascended the East steps in military ‘stack’ formation. And the crowd pounded on the Capitol doors. But now, as he announced last week, Gilbert is running for governor of Nevada.”

“‘The most important message I can leave today for all of you is that, if you sat on your hands and you censored the truth, and you peddled the fear – you’re out,’ Gilbert said in his June 12 announcement speech. ‘If election integrity isn’t the No. 1 issue of these guys running, then they’re either lost, confused, or too stupid to be running,’ he said, falsely claiming that Donald Trump – the ‘real’ president – won Nevada by 44,000 votes. From there Gilbert went on to accuse Dr. Anthony Fauci of ‘murder,’ telling the crowd that the nation’s top infectious disease specialist was a ‘psychopath’ who ‘should be in prison.’ The crowd responded with whistles and cheers. Gilbert – a former cagefighter and boxing champion and current Reno-based lawyer and conspiracy theorist – made headlines throughout 2020 for his fringe right-wing activity and COVID-19 denialism. In October 2020, he began working with America’s Frontline Doctors, a group of discredited conspiracy theorists and anti-mask advocates whose founder, Simone Gold, was arrested in January for her role in the Capitol riot” – Daily Beast.