Jury decides Alex Jones should pay nearly $1 billion in damages to Sandy Hook families for his lies about the school massacre.
Alex Jones, the host of InfoWars has been ordered to pay eight families of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims and one first responder $965 million in compensatory damages, a Connecticut jury decided Wednesday.
Jones called the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting a hoax that was staged by actors following a script written by the government. He pushed the idea that the government was behind the shooting in order to build support for gun control.
The jury decided compensatory damages for both slander and emotional distress.
Let’s Talk About “Fake Narratives,” Shall We?
Jones faced liability for defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and violations of the state Unfair Trade Practices Act, for creating a “fake narrative” that the mass shooting was a “hoax.”
The plaintiffs, families of victims, and an FBI agent who responded to the scene testified that they were tormented by Jones’ followers who believed his lies about the massacre. The families said they were harassed, abused, and threatened since the shooting as a result of Jones’ conspiracy theories about the shooting.
Alex Jones testified that he believed the shooting might have been staged at the time but has since changed his views and believes it is real now. He did not apologize to the families on the stand in this particular trial, saying that he has already apologized enough.
Is this really about a false narrative?
The victims’ attorney, Chris Mattei told the jury that Alex Jones received tremendous profits while “encouraging his followers to harass the families” of the 26 killed in the Sandy Hook mass shooting.
“Every single one of these families were drowning in grief, and Alex Jones put his foot right on top of them.”
Visitor numbers to the Infowars website increased by more than 40% after the December 2012 tragedy, Mr. Mattei said.
The attorney suggested a damages award of at least $550 million because Alex Jones and Infowars had received an estimated 550 million views from their Sandy Hook hoax content on social media accounts from 2012 to 2018.
Watching the Sandy Hook verdict live from his studio, Alex Jones makes an urgent plea to his audience for cash, and tells them that none of the money they send him will go the the families because he has filed for bankruptcy. pic.twitter.com/H658p5Sjiw
— Ron Filipkowski 🇺🇦 (@RonFilipkowski) October 12, 2022
Alex Jones Ain’t Paying.
Jones was not in the courtroom when the jury presented the verdict but was live on his show as the jury’s decision was read, laughing and satirizing the amounts being awarded. While on his show, he encouraged his audience to donate money to his company and buy products from its store to “fight this fraud” and “save Infowars” and implied that he did not intend to pay the damages.
“Ain’t going to be happening. Ain’t no money,” he said on his show Wednesday. He added, “they want us to shut down, that’s why the analyst chasers did this.”
His lawyer is planning to appeal the decision. He is facing another trial that could result in more damage awards.
The World Reacts
The damage Alex Jones has done to the lives of these families is horrific—nearly a billion dollars doesn’t solve their pain-but also true that the end of infowars would be a public service
— Jen Psaki (@jrpsaki) October 12, 2022
Alex Jones was just ordered to pay nearly $1 billion in a second defamation trial
Just like deplatforming, This isn’t about Alex Jones, it’s about silencing political enemies
The regime is setting a precedent that if you speak out, they will come after you & try to destroy you.
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) October 12, 2022
I’m not an attorney, but the Alex Jones damages in his trial seem horribly excessive. Hundreds of millions of dollars? What am I missing?
— Buzz Patterson (@BuzzPatterson) October 12, 2022
I have three words to say in regard to the recent news.
Fuck. Alex. Jones.— David Hogg ☮️ (@davidhogg111) October 12, 2022
What just happened to Alex Jones is what should happen to all professional liars who spread dangerous disinformation. Defamation law can be a very effective tool in upholding truth.
— Ahmed Baba (@AhmedBaba_) October 12, 2022
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