A Texas jury awarded the parents of a child slain in the horrific shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012 $4.1 million in compensatory damages and $45.2 million in punitive penalties against Alex Jones.
Furthermore, his legal issues are far from ended.
The families of Sandy Hook victims claimed that Jones’ false claims that the tragedy was a “giant hoax” caused them undue emotional distress and that his followers had seriously harassed them as a result. Jones is a well-known conspiracy theorist and far-right broadcaster best known in connection with the fake news website Infowars and its namesake talk show. Last year, he was the target of numerous defamation lawsuits.
In the first of those lawsuits, the trial to establish damages was held in Austin, Texas, the home of Free Speech Systems, Jones’ media empire and the parent organization of Infowars. Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis initially sued Jones and his corporation for defamation in 2018, and the case came to a close with the punitive damages decision on Friday, Aug. 5.
The parents of 6-year-old Jesse, who was one of the 20 children and six adults were shot at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Heslin and Lewis, had demanded at least $150 million in compensatory damages.
In the first of those claims, the trial to assess damages was held in Austin, Texas, the home of Free Speech Systems, Jones’ media empire and Infowars’ parent corporation.
Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis initially sued Jones and his corporation for defamation in 2018, and the case came to a close with the punitive damages decision on Friday, Aug. 5.
The parents of 6-year-old Jesse, who was one of the 20 children and six adults were shot at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Heslin and Lewis, had demanded at least $150 million in compensatory damages.