{"id":22983,"date":"2022-08-05T07:08:18","date_gmt":"2022-08-05T11:08:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/?p=22983"},"modified":"2022-08-05T07:08:18","modified_gmt":"2022-08-05T11:08:18","slug":"alex-jones-must-pay-4m-in-damages-for-sandy-hook-hoax-claims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/2022\/08\/05\/alex-jones-must-pay-4m-in-damages-for-sandy-hook-hoax-claims\/","title":{"rendered":"Alex Jones must pay $4m in damages for Sandy Hook hoax claims"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\"><b class=\"ssrcss-hmf8ql-BoldText e5tfeyi3\">Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones has been ordered to pay $4.1m (\u00a33.3m) in damages after falsely claiming the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting was a hoax.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">The parents of a victim have sought at least $150m in the Texas defamation trial against the Infowars founder.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">They said they endured harassment and emotional distress because of the right-wing host&#8217;s misinformation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">Twenty children and six adults were shot dead at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">The jury in the city of Austin decided compensatory damages on Thursday, and must still determine any punitive damages.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"unordered-list-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-1o5f7ft-BulletListContainer e5tfeyi0\">\n<ul role=\"list\">\n<li><b class=\"ssrcss-hmf8ql-BoldText e5tfeyi3\">BACKGROUND<\/b>:\u00a0<a class=\"ssrcss-k17ofw-InlineLink e1no5rhv0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-us-canada-20738998\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sandy Hook: What happened that day<\/a><\/li>\n<li><b class=\"ssrcss-hmf8ql-BoldText e5tfeyi3\">LEGAL CASE<\/b>:\u00a0<a class=\"ssrcss-k17ofw-InlineLink e1no5rhv0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-us-canada-43799449\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sandy Hook parents sue for defamation<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">Jones &#8211; who was not in court when the outcome was announced &#8211; 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 &#8220;crisis actors&#8221;.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">He has already lost a series of defamation cases brought by parents of the victims by default after failing to produce documents and testimony.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">But this is the first in which financial damages were agreed by a jury.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">Ahead of Thursday&#8217;s decision, a lawyer for the plaintiffs revealed that Jones&#8217; lawyer had inadvertently sent him two years of texts from his client&#8217;s phone.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">The attorney said a congressional panel investigating last year&#8217;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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">Despite retracting his claims about Sandy Hook, Jones has continued to use his platform to attack jurors and the judge in this case.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18mjolk-ComponentWrapper ep2nwvo1\" data-component=\"image-block\">\n<figure class=\"ssrcss-wpgbih-StyledFigure e34k3c23\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-ab5fd8-StyledFigureContainer e34k3c21\"><span class=\"ssrcss-1hq4gmv-Placeholder e16icw910\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"ssrcss-evoj7m-Image ee0ct7c0\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/976\/cpsprodpb\/8C78\/production\/_126206953_tv077646083.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/240\/cpsprodpb\/8C78\/production\/_126206953_tv077646083.jpg 240w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/320\/cpsprodpb\/8C78\/production\/_126206953_tv077646083.jpg 320w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/8C78\/production\/_126206953_tv077646083.jpg 480w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/624\/cpsprodpb\/8C78\/production\/_126206953_tv077646083.jpg 624w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/800\/cpsprodpb\/8C78\/production\/_126206953_tv077646083.jpg 800w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/976\/cpsprodpb\/8C78\/production\/_126206953_tv077646083.jpg 976w\" alt=\"Jesse Lewis, 6, was killed when a man with an assault rifle attacked his classroom\" width=\"976\" height=\"549\" \/><\/span><\/div><figcaption class=\"ssrcss-1mget3o-StyledFigureCaption e34k3c22\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-y7krbn-Stack e1y4nx260\">Jesse Lewis, six, was killed at Sandy Hook (Image: Reuters)<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">He also claimed he was bankrupt despite evidence that his companies were earning about $800,000 a day selling diet supplements, gun paraphernalia and survivalist equipment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">&#8220;Speech is free, but lies you have to pay for,&#8221; lawyers for the families countered in their opening arguments.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">Testifying on Wednesday, Jones acknowledged the Sandy Hook attack was &#8220;100% real&#8221; and apologised for having &#8220;hurt these people&#8217;s feelings&#8221;.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">But in her testimony, Mrs Lewis addressed Jones in court, saying: &#8220;Jesse was real\u2026 I&#8217;m a real mom.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">She went on to say it is &#8220;incredible to me that we have to do this&#8221;.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">&#8220;That we have to implore you &#8211; not just implore you, punish you &#8211; to get you to stop lying,&#8221; she continued, adding: &#8220;It is surreal what is going on in here.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">Mr Heslin said that Jones&#8217; lies &#8220;tarnished the honour and legacy&#8221; of his son, adding that he had gone through nearly 10 years of &#8220;hell&#8221; since the attack.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-18mjolk-ComponentWrapper ep2nwvo1\" data-component=\"image-block\">\n<figure class=\"ssrcss-wpgbih-StyledFigure e34k3c23\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-ab5fd8-StyledFigureContainer e34k3c21\"><span class=\"ssrcss-1hq4gmv-Placeholder e16icw910\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"ssrcss-evoj7m-Image ee0ct7c0\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/976\/cpsprodpb\/1039C\/production\/_126206466_tv077648918.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/240\/cpsprodpb\/1039C\/production\/_126206466_tv077648918.jpg 240w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/320\/cpsprodpb\/1039C\/production\/_126206466_tv077648918.jpg 320w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/1039C\/production\/_126206466_tv077648918.jpg 480w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/624\/cpsprodpb\/1039C\/production\/_126206466_tv077648918.jpg 624w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/800\/cpsprodpb\/1039C\/production\/_126206466_tv077648918.jpg 800w, https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/976\/cpsprodpb\/1039C\/production\/_126206466_tv077648918.jpg 976w\" alt=\"The parents of Jesse Lewis said Jones had made their lives &quot;hell&quot;\" width=\"976\" height=\"549\" \/><\/span><\/div><figcaption class=\"ssrcss-1mget3o-StyledFigureCaption e34k3c22\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-y7krbn-Stack e1y4nx260\">The parents said Jones had made their lives &#8220;hell&#8221; (Image: Reuters)<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">One forensic psychiatrist testified that the parents were suffering from &#8220;complex post-traumatic stress disorder&#8221; similar to what battlefield soldiers or victims of child abuse endure.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">Jones&#8217; 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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">Other wild conspiracies pushed by Jones include that the US government is creating floods and tornados as &#8220;weather weapons&#8221; and that chemicals in drinking water are making frogs homosexual.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">&#8220;We aren&#8217;t done folks,&#8221; the attorney was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-uf6wea-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\" data-component=\"text-block\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">&#8220;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&#8217;s going to owe a lot more.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/world-us-canada-62427918\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\">Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones has been ordered to pay $4.1m (\u00a33.3m) in damages after falsely claiming the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting was a hoax. The parents of a victim have sought at least $150m <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/2022\/08\/05\/alex-jones-must-pay-4m-in-damages-for-sandy-hook-hoax-claims\/\" title=\"Alex Jones must pay $4m in damages for Sandy Hook hoax claims\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22984,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[109,2,3],"tags":[8110,5009,1023,641,147],"class_list":{"0":"post-22983","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headline","8":"category-news","9":"category-usa","10":"tag-alex-jones","11":"tag-austin","12":"tag-defamation","13":"tag-sandy-hook","14":"tag-texas","15":"pmpro-has-access"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22983","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22983"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22983\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22986,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22983\/revisions\/22986"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22984"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22983"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22983"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22983"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}