INFOWARS host Alex Jones sparked outrage following misinformative remarks regarding the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting, landing him two lawsuits for damages caused by his claims
On Wednesday, October 12, 2022, a Connecticut court found Alex Jones liable for defamation, causing him to owe Sandy Hook victims over $950 million in damages – and months later, another judge ruled that Jones could and should liquify his assets to pay the victims' families.
Who is Alex Jones?
Alex Jones, 50, is known as a far-right radio show host and conspiracy theorist.
New York Magazine once described him as "America's leading conspiracy theorist" while Southern Poverty Law Center added that he is the most "prolific conspiracy theorist in contemporary America."
A Dallas, Texas native, Jones is known for his baseless warnings about terrorist attacks and has called tragic events such as 9/11, the Boston Marathon bombings, and the 2013 Washington Navy Yard mass murder, "operations" that have come from our own government.
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His radio show has millions of followers and it was later revealed that Boston Marathon bomber, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, was among his listeners.
What did Alex Jones say about the Sandy Hook Shooting?
The 2012 Sandy Hook shooting was one of the deadliest school shootings in American history.
The shooter killed 26 people at the school, 20 of whom were children, before killing himself.
Over the years, Jones has been known for falsely claiming the event was a "giant hoax" that was carried out by actors who oppose the Second Amendment right to bear arms.
As a result, the families of the victims sued Jones for defamation in both Texas and Connecticut courts.
On September 30, 2021, CNN reported that Jones lost two more lawsuits after Judge Maya Guerra Gamble determined he was legally responsible for damages.
"The Court finds that Defendants' failure to comply...is greatly aggravated by [their] consistent pattern of discovery abuse throughout similar cases pending before this Court," the Texas judge wrote in a statement.
"The Court finds that Defendants' discovery conduct in this case is the result of flagrant bad faith and callous disregard for the responsibilities of discovery under the rules."
In 2019, according to a sworn deposition, Jones had acknowledged the events were real and claimed he suffered from "a form of psychosis" which made him question if they were.
Following the decision, Jones and Infowars attorney Norm Pattis issued a statement slamming the judge's decision.
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"The trial court’s entry of a default in these cases is stunning," the statement read.
"It takes no account of the tens of thousands of documents produced by the defendants, the hours spent sitting for depositions and the various sworn statements filed in these cases."
In November 2021, a Connecticut judge found Jones and the other defendants liable for defamation.
Connecticut Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis cited the defendants' "willful noncompliance" with the discovery process as the reasoning behind the ruling reported NPR.
On August 2, 2022, the parents of Sandy Hook victim, 6-year-old Jesse Lewis confronted Jones about his "dangerous" propaganda.
According to CNN, Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis are asking for $150 million for the "hell" Jones inflicted on them and their family.
"There's got to be a strong deterrent that shall prevent him from peddling this propaganda," Heslin said in his testimony.
He wants "to restore my credibility, my reputation, and Jesse's legacy that he so much deserves."
"My life has been threatened," Heslin added. "I fear for my life. I fear for my safety and my family's safety and their life."
Jones, on the other hand, told Heslin and Lewis from the stand: "I never intentionally tried to hurt you."
Jones said "the internet had a lot of questions" in regard to the Sandy Hook shooting and so he simply "tried to find out what actually happened."
What was the judge's ruling?
The jury ruled that Jones had to pay $4 million in compensatory damages to the parents of a Sandy Hook victim on August 4, 2022.
"Speech is free, but lies you have to pay for," the family attorney argued in court.
Further, on August 5, 2022, the jury ruled that Jones had to pay Sandy Hook parents another $45 million in punitive damages.
On October 12, 2022, he was later ordered to pay over $950 million in damages.
Heslin told the jury that Jones had "tarnished the honor and legacy" of his son and he couldn't "even begin to describe the last nine-and-a-half years of hell" he has endured.
The payment is far less than what plaintiffs Scarlett Lewis and Neil Heslin had asked for with the original request of $150 million.
The jury's decision ended a four-year process in which Jones was charged with spreading conspiracy theories that the school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School was a hoax.
Lewis told the jury that requiring Jones to pay monetary damages was appropriate in this case because it might be a driving force for him to cease expelling conspiracy theories.
"There has not been a sincere apology," she said. "But if there was, ever, I liken it to being in a car accident and you run over someone and cause tremendous bodily damage and you look at that person lying on the ground and say, 'I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm not accountable for any of the damage I just caused. But I'm sorry.' That's how I see it."
The jury asked Jones how he would show the families of the Sandy Hook victims that he was truly sorry.
"If you are genuinely sorry and regretful about how your words caused harm to grieving parents, how do you plan to show, rather than just tell, that you are sorry?" one juror asked.
"I'd apologize to her legitimately, I would love to invite you guys on the show [Infowars] regardless, so you could actually come meet the people, come on, and I think it would be huge for everybody to see that," he said.
Jones used Infowars to regularly spread disinformation about the Sandy Hook shooting and claimed he had been "misrepresented" and that he no longer wanted to be "the Sandy Hook guy."
Speaking to Jones, Lewis said: "It seems so 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...It is surreal what is going on in here."
In June 2024, Jones was ordered to liquidate his personal assets to pay the families of the victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
Jones, who had already been stressed over potentially losing his conspiracy podcast and website, Info Wars, is reportedly devastated at the news.
"This is probably the end of Infowars here very, very soon," Jones said, according to CNN.
How can I watch The Truth vs. Alex Jones?
The Truth vs. Alex Jones is a documentary that focuses on the aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012.
The film, which was released on March 11, 2024, also follows the defamation lawsuits against Alex Jones.
The HBO original documentary is exclusively available for streaming on the network's Max platform.
