A jury in Connecticut, in the northeastern United States, convicted the conspiracy theorist on Wednesday. Alex Jones to pay nearly $1 billion in damages for claiming the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre was a “hoax.”
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After three days of deliberations, the jury decided to pay $965 million to the families of eight Sandy Hook victims and an FBI agent who brought the libel case against Jones.
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Jones, founder of the InfoWars website and host of a popular radio show, has been found liable in multiple defamation lawsuits brought by the parents of the victims of the Newtown, Connecticut, shooting that left 20 children and six teachers dead.
Jones, 48, has claimed for years on his show that the Sandy Hook shooting was a “set up” by gun control activists and that the parents were “crisis actors”but has since acknowledged that it was “100% real.”
Relatives of Sandy Hook victims say these lies, coupled with Jones’s ability to influence thousands of his followers, caused them real emotional trauma.
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Jones was also accused of making huge profits from various products he sold on his website.
A Texas jury ordered Jones last month to pay nearly $50 million damages to Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, whose six-year-old son, Jesse, was killed by the 20-year-old gunman responsible for the Sandy Hook shooting.
The most recent trial was held in Waterbury, Connecticut, less than 30 kilometers from Newtown. William Aldenberg, an FBI agent who was involved in the shooting and joined the victims’ relatives’ lawsuit, was awarded $90 million in damages.
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In bankrupt
InfoWars filed for bankruptcy in April and another company owned by Jones, Free Speech Systems, also recently filed for bankruptcy.
Jones appeared in a live broadcast on the Infowars page during the reading of the verdict in court, and announced that he plans to appeal.
“This is what a court show looks like,” he said, asking his followers to visit his page and buy the products he sells. Chris Mattei, an attorney for the families, welcomed the jury’s decision: “We believe it is historic and we are going to enforce this verdict,” he told reporters.
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“And if … you’re an audience member for Alex Jones and you’re considering giving him money, I want you to know that based on today’s jury verdict, it’s not a very good bet.” “All Alex Jones does is take you away, exploit you, lie to you, feed your fears and anxieties, and mistrust.”
“Well that ends, it ends today, thanks to the courage of these families,” he added.
All Alex Jones does is take you away, exploit you, lie to you, feed your fears and anxieties, and your distrust.
A supporter of former President Donald Trump, Jones is also under investigation for the January 6 assault on the US Capitol.
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Trump appeared on Jones’ radio show several times during the 2016 election campaign, and the InfoWars founder was in Washington when supporters of the former president stormed Congress to try to stop the certification of Joe Biden’s victory.
AFP
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