A Texas courtroom ordered conspiracy theorist Alex Jones to pay $4 million to Sandy Hook parents for spreading lies about the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012.
Jones had repeatedly claimed that the mass shooting was a "hoax" involving the victims' families. The ruling is the first time the Infowars founder was held financially liable for his false claims about the December 2012 massacre, according to The Sun.
The parents of slain first-grader Jesse Lewis, Neil Heslin, and Scarlett Lewis asked the court for $150million from Jones and his company, Free Speech Systems LLC, for what their lawyers call a "vile campaign" against defamation.
The family secured $5.6 million
Attorney Mark Bankston, the legal representative of Heslin and Lewis, stated that the verdict was announced.
Bankston said they had secured $4.1million on behalf of Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis. They had earlier secured $1.5million in fines from Jones. Hence the plaintiff is expected to receive $5.6million from Jones and his company. The amount does not include the punitive damages and additional sanctions that the court will decide soon.
Bankston added that the couple is thrilled with the result and looks forward to putting Jones' money to good use. Meanwhile, Jones will not sleep easy tonight as punitive damages still need to be decided, and multiple defamation suits are pending. Bankston added that the Infowar founder's time in the American state is about to end.
The Sandy Hook shooting is 100% real
The Heslin couple testified in court, sharing that Jones' lies had made their lives a living hell as followers of Jones harassed and made death threats for allegedly lying about their son's death. According to BBC, Jones had consistently claimed over the years that the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting was a "giant hoax," and it was made by actors who opposed the Second Amendment right to bear firearms. He also claimed that crisis actors staged the massacre.
However, Jones acknowledged the shooting, telling the jury that the tragic incident in 2012 was "100 percent real."
Jones also admitted that he "unintentionally took part" in things that hurt people's feelings and said he was sorry for doing so.
On Wednesday, Bankston told the court that Jones' lawyers mistakenly sent him a digital copy of Jones' entire cellphone content with every text message the conspiracy theorist sent over the past two years. Jones's lawyers were shocked.
Jones' camp filed a motion for mistrial after he was aware of the leaked messages, but the presiding judge, Judge Maya Guerra Gamble, denied the request.
The lawyer for Jones has not commented on the decision. However, Jones posted on his Infowars video that they celebrated the decision, saying it was a "major victory for the truth."
A different group of Sandy Hook family sued Jones in Connecticut. CNN reports that the family has won a default judgment against Jones, and the trial is expected in September.
