PanamaTimes

Sunday, Jan 19, 2025

Alex Jones must pay $4.1m in damages for Sandy Hook theories

Alex Jones must pay $4.1m in damages for Sandy Hook theories

Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones has been ordered to pay $4.1m (£3.3m) in damages after falsely claiming the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting was a hoax.

The parents of a victim have sought at least $150m in the Texas defamation trial against the Infowars founder.

They said they endured harassment and emotional distress because of the right-wing host's misinformation.

Twenty children and six adults were shot dead at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.

The jury in the city of Austin decided compensatory damages on Thursday, and must still determine any punitive damages.

Jones - who was not in court when the outcome was announced - has repeatedly argued that the shooting was a hoax organised by the government in order to strip Americans of gun ownership rights, and that the parents of the dead children were "crisis actors".

He has already lost a series of defamation cases brought by parents of the victims by default after failing to produce documents and testimony.

But this is the first in which financial damages were agreed by a jury.

The case was brought by Scarlett Lewis and Neil Heslin, the separated parents of six-year-old Jesse Lewis, who died in the school shooting.

Ahead of Thursday's decision, a lawyer for the plaintiffs revealed that Jones' lawyer had inadvertently sent him two years of texts from his client's phone.

The attorney said a congressional panel investigating last year's US Capitol riot had already requested access to the messages. The committee has said Jones helped organise a rally that took place just before the riot.

Despite retracting his claims about Sandy Hook, Jones has continued to use his platform to attack jurors and the judge in this case.

Jesse Lewis, six, was killed at Sandy Hook


He also claimed he was bankrupt despite evidence that his companies were earning about $800,000 dollars a day selling diet supplements, gun paraphernalia and survivalist equipment.

During the emotionally charged two-week trial, Jones portrayed the case as an attack on his free speech rights under the First Amendment of the US Constitution.

"Speech is free, but lies you have to pay for," lawyers for the families countered in their opening arguments.

Testifying on Wednesday, Jones acknowledged the Sandy Hook attack was "100% real" and apologised for having "hurt these people's feelings".

But in her testimony, Mrs Lewis addressed Jones in court, saying: "Jesse was real… I'm a real mom."

She went on to say it is "incredible to me that we have to do this".

"That we have to implore you - not just implore you, punish you - to get you to stop lying," she continued, adding: "It is surreal what is going on in here."

Mr Heslin said that Jones' lies "tarnished the honour and legacy" of his son, adding that he had gone through nearly 10 years of "hell" since the attack.

According to lawyers for the parents, they were forced to hire private security for the trial out of concern that followers of Jones could seek to harm them.

The parents said Jones had made their lives "hell"


One forensic psychiatrist testified that the parents were suffering from "complex post-traumatic stress disorder" similar to what battlefield soldiers or victims of child abuse endure.

Lawyers for the parents accused Jones of trying to hide evidence, and argued that he had committed perjury when he denied sending messages related to the Sandy Hook attack.

Jones' Infowars parent company, Free Speech Systems LLC, declared bankruptcy last week. The outlet has been banned by YouTube, Spotify and Twitter for hate speech, but continues to operate.

Other wild conspiracies pushed by Jones include that the US government is creating floods and tornados as "weather weapons" and that chemicals in drinking water are making frogs homosexual.

Lawyer Mark Banston, who represented the parents in the case, told reporters outside court on Thursday that his clients were not disappointed with the sum awarded by the jury.

"We aren't done folks," the attorney was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency.

"We knew coming into this case it was necessary to shoot for the moon to get the jury to understand we were serious and passionate. After tomorrow, he's going to owe a lot more."


Watch as Alex Jones is told his text messages were sent to opposing lawyers by mistake


Newsletter

Related Articles

PanamaTimes
0:00
0:00
Close
Bill Ackman Praises Social Media Platform X as 'The New Media'
California Wildfires Set to Become Costliest in U.S. History
Chief Justice Roberts Warns Against Threats to Judicial Independence
Generation Z Faces Scrutiny Over Workplace Readiness
Democrats Call on Biden to Protect Controversial Temporary Protected Status Program
Trinidad and Tobago Declares State of Emergency as Murder Rates Surge
Migrant Children Abandoned at U.S.-Mexico Border
The Closure of the Global Engagement Center: Controversy, Claims, and Conclusions
The American Democrats Party Strives to Rise from the Ashes
Trump Nominates Kevin Marino Cabrera as Ambassador to Panama Amid Canal Dispute
Texas Congresswoman Kay Granger Located in Nursing Home Following Six Months of Inactivity
A large group of unauthorized migrants is traveling through Mexico with the aim of reaching the USA before Trump assumes office.
A Democrat Congresswoman with blue and black hair is having a breakdown over "President Musk."
Argentina Defies Predictions with Record $17 Billion Trade Surplus, But Is the Growth Sustainable?
Disney's High Seas Gamble: Navigating the Waters of Cruise Expansion
The Surprising Impact of Extreme Heat on Mexico's Youth
Polarization: The Word That Unites a Divided Era
Exoneration in the Subway: The Complexities of Self-Defense and Public Safety
The Tragic Passing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Highlights Corporate Security Challenges
Global Developments: Violence in Sinaloa, Political Chaos in the Bahamas, Venezuelan Voting Disputes, and a Major UK Drug Bust
OpenAI and Anduril: Charting AI's Path in Modern Warfare
The Pardon of Hunter Biden: A Symbol of Hypocrisy
Biden Crafted the Strategy Used by Trump
South Korea's Democracy Tested: President Yoon’s Martial Law Reversal Sparks Political Reckoning
Seoul Crisis: Yoon Suk Yeol's Martial Law Blunder Triggers Political Upheaval
Generative AI's Limited Impact on Elections Highlighted by Meta
France at the Precipice: Barnier’s Administration Confronts Unprecedented No-Confidence Vote
Jaguar Unveils Electric Concept Car, Type 00
White House Defends Presidential Pardon of Hunter Biden
xAI by Elon Musk: Transforming Ambition with a $50 Billion Valuation
President-elect Donald Trump, has announced on Truth Social that Kashyap "Kash" Patel, will be the next Director of the FBI
A Historic Milestone or Risky Precedent? The Assisted Dying Bill Splits both Parliament and the Nation in England and Wales
Trump's Tariff Threat Looms Large as Trudeau Heads to Mar-a-Lago for Talks
Canada's Oil Industry Faces Uncertainty Amidst Trump's Tariff Threat
World Court to Assess Global Legal Responsibilities on Climate Change
What the Pink Elephant Test Reveals About Thought Control
Trudeau Visits Trump in Florida Amid Rising Tariff Concerns
Is Elon Musk the Unofficial President of America?
Impact of Proposed US Tariffs on Canadian Oil Exports
U.S. policymakers face a contentious debate over whether to engage with Nicolás Maduro's regime in Venezuela.
COP29's Carbon Trading Deal Faces Major Criticisms
Indian Diplomats in Canada Monitored: Government Raises Alarm
Putin Warns Trump of Ongoing Safety Concerns
Claudia Sheinbaum Challenges Trump's Migration Claims
Insights from Dostoevsky: The Impact of Self-Deception
Trump Administration Nominees Face Threats, FBI Confirms
Elon Musk Criticizes Fighter Jets, Advocates for Drone Warfare
Kim Kardashian's Social Media Activity Fuels Political Speculation
An Examination of AI's Influence on Future Work and Life
Tulsi Gabbard's Contentious Nomination for Director of National Intelligence
×