Phoenix Jones facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Phoenix Jones
Jones without his mask in 2013
Born	Benjamin John Francis Fodor (1988-05-25) May 25, 1988 (age 37) Texas, U.S.
Occupation	Costumed vigilante WSOF fighter mixed martial artist
Known for	Confronting alleged lawbreakers while dressed in a superhero costume.
Relatives	Caros Fodor (brother)

Phoenix Jones (born Benjamin John Francis Fodor; May 25, 1988) is an American real-life superhero and mixed martial artist. Initially wearing a ski mask to intervene in a public assault, Fodor later developed a full costume and adopted "Phoenix Jones" as a pseudonym. From 2011 until its dissolution in 2014, Jones was the leader of the Rain City Superhero Movement, a Seattle, Washington-based citizen patrol group that described itself as a crime prevention brigade.

Jones says the best way to prevent getting mistaken for a criminal by the police is to wear a "supersuit", although local police have expressed concern that the strange costumes may lead to emergency calls from citizens who mistake the "superheroes" for criminals. Jones has said that all members of the Rain City Superhero Movement have a military or mixed martial arts background.

Jones is signed to World Series of Fighting, where he has fought at two catchweights, which included fighting his older foster brother, UFC, Strikeforce, and ONE Championship fighter Caros Fodor.

Adoption of persona

Jones says he wanted to take policing matters into his own hands after a few incidents changed his mind about Seattle. The first was when Jones says that his car was broken into and his son was injured after returning to the vehicle and falling on the broken glass. Jones was told that several people saw the break-in happen, but did not intervene. Later, Jones says that he encountered a friend being seriously assaulted outside a bar, and after calling 911 he put on the mask from the earlier break-in and "made a commotion" until the police showed up. "And I thought, why didn't someone help him? There were seventy people outside that bar and no one did anything."

Jones went on to develop a full costume and pseudonym, when his crime-fighting behavior made him too recognizable. In a CBS news broadcast, Jones is shown entering a back room of an unnamed comic book store in which he changes into costume which consists of a Dragon Skin brand bulletproof vest and stab plating, as well as equipment including a stun baton, pepper spray or tear gas, handcuffs and a first aid kit.

Jones later became part of the Rain City Superhero Movement. In July 2011, local police recorded ten citizens patrolling the city in superhero costumes, using the names Thorn, Buster Doe, Green Reaper, The Mantis, Gemini, No Name, Catastrophe, Thunder 88, Penelope and Phoenix Jones. An individual using the pseudonym "Red Dragon" has also claimed to be a member of the group.

Press coverage

• On Sunday, January 2, 2011, in Lynnwood, Phoenix Jones stopped and chased away a car thief as the car owner (who asked to be identified only as "Dan") stood by in shock as Jones ran into action. CBS News introduced Dan and Phoenix Jones to one another the following Monday evening. Dan proceeded to thank Jones numerous times while later talking about Phoenix's gear.
• On Saturday, September 24, 2011, in the Belltown neighborhood of Seattle, the driver of the bus had been handing out fliers when another individual attempted to steal the bus. Jones was reported to have intervened and the hijacker escaped. Jones says he didn't receive any help from Seattle police, who took hours to respond to the incident.
• On Sunday, November 27, 2011, near the Belltown neighborhood of Seattle, Phoenix Jones and crew followed a man accused of injurying another man. They prevented the attacker from fleeing until the Seattle police arrived.
• On Friday, January 6, 2012, Phoenix Jones and crew stopped a fight at the same location of the New Year's Eve shooting in Belltown.
• On Tuesday, May 1, 2012, a blogger reported that Phoenix Jones had pepper sprayed black bloc protesters in downtown Seattle, although Jones denied this on Twitter. In an interview on the Bob Rivers Show on May 2, Phoenix Jones asserted that, while undercover with the protesters, several of them revealed to him a plot to bomb the city courthouse. According to Phoenix Jones, after telling the police and receiving no support, he and another member of the Rain City Superhero Movement intercepted the protesters at the courthouse and acted in self-defense as the protesters began throwing rocks and bottles through the windows and glass doors of the court house. Fellow costumed activists El Caballero and Midnightjack accompanied Phoenix Jones.
• In November 2012, Jones hit the headlines for engaging in mutual combat.
• On Friday, March 27, 2015 in New Haven, Connecticut, just before Phoenix Jones was to be the featured speaker at The Institute Library's Amateur Hour speaking series, he prevented a man from being wounded by holding off a group of men until police arrived. Deputized to hold the superhero's backpack was Amateur Hour host and This American Life contributor Jack Hitt, to whom Phoenix Jones later jokingly gave the superhero moniker "Blue Corduroy".
• On Sunday, September 20, 2015 in Seattle, Washington, Jones spotted three men assaulting another man. The three were arrested for assault, with one being charged with possession of a firearm by a felon.
• On Tuesday, March 22, 2016 in Seattle, Washington, Jones attempted to assist authorities in talking the "man in tree" down from the 80-foot sequoia he had climbed, but police rejected the offer.
• Jones was seen patrolling the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone in June 2020.

Arrest record

Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes has called Jones a "deeply misguided individual."

In October 2011, Jones was arrested for investigation of assault, after using pepper spray to break up an alleged fight. He spent approximately seven hours in jail before posting the $3,800 bail. No charges were filed and the case was dropped later that month.

Jones appeared in court wearing a black and gray striped shirt over his supersuit on October 13, 2011. A court officer asked Jones to remove his mask, and he complied, putting the mask back on after the hearing. Jones then spoke with reporters and removed his mask again to reveal his identity as Ben Fodor. Fodor stated that he would continue patrolling the city:

I will continue to patrol with my team, probably tonight [October 13, 2011]. In addition to being Phoenix Jones, I am also Ben Fodor, father and brother. I am just like everybody else. The only difference is that I try to stop crime in my neighborhood and everywhere else. I think I have to look toward the future and see what I can do to help the city.

Mixed martial arts

Ben Fodor
Fodor at an MMA event, fighting as "Fear the Flattop"
Born	(1988-05-25) May 25, 1988 (age 37)
Other names	Flattop, Vigilante
Nationality	American
Height	6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight	170 lb (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb)
Division	Welterweight
Reach	71 in (180 cm)
Fighting out of	Seattle, Washington, United States
Team	AMC Kickboxing
Years active	2006–present (MMA)
Mixed martial arts record
Total	11
Wins	7
By knockout	1
By submission	4
By decision	2
Losses	3
By decision	3
Draws	1

Amateur career

Ben Fodor began his amateur MMA career in December 2006. Over the next four years, he amassed a record of 15 wins and 2 losses as an amateur.

Professional career

Fodor made his professional MMA debut in November 2013 for the Cage Warrior Combat promotion based in his native Washington state. Fodor is the younger foster brother of Strikeforce and UFC veteran Caros Fodor.

On March 11, 2015, it was announced that Fodor had signed an exclusive contract with World Series of Fighting. Fodor made his debut at WSOF 20 on April 10, 2015, wanting to be known under his pseudonym "Phoenix Jones". He faced Emmanuel Walo and lost the fight via unanimous decision, his first loss in his professional career, leaving with a record of 5 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss. On September 18, 2015, he rebounded with a rare headscissors submission win over Roberto Yong at World Series of Fighting 23: Gaethje vs. Palomino II.

Mixed martial arts record

See also

In Spanish: Phoenix Jones para niños