Megyn Kelly Defends Alex Jones Interview After Criticism From Sandy Hook Families

Megyn Kelly defended her upcoming interview with conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, even after an anti-gun violence group founded by parents of children killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting axed the NBC anchor as host of their upcoming event.

Kelly has taken considerable heat for interviewing Jones, who has suggested that the shooting was a false flag orchestrated by gun control advocates and that the grieving parents are actors.

Kelly told CNN’s Dylan Byers that while she found Jones’s conspiracy theories “personally revolting,” she said that it was her duty as a journalist to “shine the light” on the radio host’s behavior. She tweeted a similar message on Sunday:

But parents of the children killed in the massacre aren’t buying it.

Their group, Sandy Hook Promise, “cannot support the decision by Megyn or NBC to give any form of voice or platform to Alex Jones and have asked Megyn Kelly to step down as our Promise Champion Gala host,” said Nicole Hockley, the group’s co-founder and managing director, in a statement on Monday night. “It is our hope that Megyn and NBC reconsider and not broadcast this interview.”

The fundraising event, which Sandy Hook Promise hosts to honor advocates against gun violence, is scheduled for Wednesday night in Washington, D.C.

Six adults and 20 children, including Hockley’s 6-year-old son Dylan, were killed in the shooting. Nelba Marquez-Greene, who lost her 6-year-old daughter Ana that day, also spoke out against Kelly and Jones in a series of tweets.

Last week, a Florida woman was sentenced to five months in prison for threatening the family of another child killed in the shooting, which the woman said was faked.

Jones, who runs the website Infowars, peddled another hoax last year that then-Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton was connected to child sex-trafficking ring. That tale led someone to fire a gun in a pizza parlor after the radio host falsely said the ring was located there.

Jones has also claimed that the government was behind both the Sept. 11 attacks and the Oklahoma City bombing.

According to the Wall Street Journal, at least one major sponsor― JPMorgan Chase― is pulling its ads until after the program airs.

Also on HuffPost

Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.

Become exceedingly adequate in Microsoft Paint. Focus primarily on red. Circles and arrows are a must-learn. Double underlines not necessary, but helpful.

Check IMDB to find out if anyone involved in your theory is listed! That means they are lying actors and that’s as good as a smoking gun. If they're not listed, they're probably using an alias. Evil loves IMDb.

One piece of shaky and unsubstantiated evidence is nothing to base your case on, so it’s important to amass a huge collection of shaky and unsubstantiated evidence.

Photos are a visual record of what happened at a specific moment in the view of the camera. But you know what it doesn't show in that moment? The rest of the world and all the insidious, heinous things going on. What are photos trying to hide??

Things are never as they seem to be. You have to dig deeper, and that means delving into the world of make-believe, where cowardly journalists refuse to go.

The word “gate” has been overused terribly ― KEEP USING IT. If they tell you it makes you sound crazy, it’s because they’re active players in Gategate!

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.