Alex Jones Ordered to Pay $4.1M to Parents of Sandy Hook Victim in Defamation Case

August 4, 2022
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(Briana Sanchez/Austin American-Statesman via AP)

Alex Jones has been ordered to pay at least $4.1 MILLION to the parents of a Sandy Hook massacre victim in his defamation case.

The jury has decided that Infowars host Alex Jones must pay at least $4.1 million to the family of a 6-year-old killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting for the suffering he and his website and broadcast caused them by spreading lies about the 2012 massacre.

The son of the parents suing died along with 19 of his classmates and 6 educators at the school in Newtown, Connecticut.

They sought $150 million for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones attempts to answer questions about his emails asked by Mark Bankston, lawyer for Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, during trial at the Travis County Courthouse in Austin, Wednesday Aug. 3, 2022. Jones testified Wednesday that he now understands it was irresponsible of him to declare the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre a hoax and that he now believes it was “100% real.” (Briana Sanchez/Austin American-Statesman via AP, Pool)
Alex Jones talks to media during a midday break during the trial at the Travis County Courthouse in Austin, Texas, Tuesday, July 26, 2022. An attorney for the parents of one of the children who were killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting told jurors that Jones repeatedly “lied and attacked the parents of murdered children” when he told his Infowars audience that the 2012 attack was a hoax. Attorney Mark Bankston said during his opening statement to determine damages against Jones that Jones created a “massive campaign of lies” and recruited “wild extremists from the fringes of the internet … who were as cruel as Mr. Jones wanted them to be” to the victims’ families. Jones later blasted the case, calling it a “show trial” and an assault on the First Amendment. (Briana Sanchez/Austin American-Statesman via AP, Pool)
Bill Ogden, representing Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, parents of Sandy Hook shooting victim Jesse Lewis, presents the Society of Professional Journalists code of ethics during Alex Jones’ defamation damages trial at the Travis County Courthouse, Friday, July 29, 2022 in Austin, Texas. Jones has been found to have defamed the parents of a Sandy Hook student for calling the attack a hoax. (Briana Sanchez/Austin American-Statesman via AP, Pool)
Judge Maya Guerra Gamble looks at a photo illustration of herself that InfoWars has been showing on air during trial at the Travis County Courthouse in Austin, Wednesday Aug. 3, 2022. Jones testified Wednesday that he now understands it was irresponsible of him to declare the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre a hoax and that he now believes it was “100% real.” (Briana Sanchez/Austin American-Statesman via AP, Pool)
Scarlett Lewis, mother of 6-year-old Sandy Hook shooting victim Jesse Lewis, testifies against Alex Jones Tuesday Aug. 2, 2022, at the Travis County Courthouse in Austin. Jones has been found to have defamed the parents of a Sandy Hook student for calling the attack a hoax. (Briana Sanchez/Austin American-Statesman via AP, Pool)

An attorney for Jones, who has repeatedly suggested that the Sandy Hook shooting was a hoax, asked jurors to award Heslin and Lewis only $1.

The jury was only asked to decide whether Jones, who has already been found liable by a judge because he did not hand over critical evidence before the trial began, must also pay Jesse’s parents for the emotional distress and reputational damage caused by his false claims.

The jury will also decide whether to award punitive damages.

The panel will hear testimony on that subject Friday.

The trial included testimony from both parents and Jones, who has portrayed the lawsuit as an attack on his First Amendment rights.

Following the shooting, he asserted that it was fabricated and included crisis actors. He later acknowledged that it took place.

Alex Jones attempts to answer questions about his text messages asked by Mark Bankston, lawyer for Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, during trial at the Travis County Courthouse in Austin, Wednesday Aug. 3, 2022. Jones testified Wednesday that he now understands it was irresponsible of him to declare the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre a hoax and that he now believes it was “100% real.” (Briana Sanchez/Austin American-Statesman via AP, Pool)

His attorney, Andino Reynal, argued that Jones has paid for his mistake by losing millions of followers after he was removed from social media platforms in 2018.

“He made a terrible mistake,” Reynal told jurors, referring to Jones.

“That mistake was weaponized by the same political forces that had descended upon Sandy Hook when it happened.”

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ABOUT THE WRITER:

Elena Patestas is a journalist and writer for Valuetainment media. She attended Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, and Adelphi University on Long Island, New York. She was born and raised in Roslyn, New York, and currently lives in Miami, Florida.

Elena is passionate about bringing positive change to our world and believes education is the root to solving many societal problems. After overcoming a chronic health condition, Elena became passionate about health and believes food is the key to preventing dis-ease and achieving optimum health.

Amongst her many goals, she hopes to bring positive, impactful change to our world to create a healthy, financially sound, and unified society.

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