Posted on 08/05/2022 9:23:56 PM PDT by RandFan
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A Texas jury on Friday ordered conspiracy theorist Alex Jones to pay $45.2 million in punitive damages to the parents of a child who was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, adding to the $4.1 million he must pay for the suffering he put them through by claiming for years that the nation’s deadliest school shooting was a hoax.
The total — $49.3 million — is less than the $150 million sought by Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, whose 6-year-old son Jesse Lewis was among the 20 children and six educators killed in the 2012 attack in Newtown, Connecticut. But the trial marks the first time Jones has been held financially liable for peddling lies about the massacre, claiming it was faked by the government to tighten gun laws.
Afterward, Lewis said that Jones — who wasn’t in the courtroom to hear the verdict — has been held accountable. She said when she took the stand and looked Jones in the eye, she thought of her son, who was credited with saving lives by yelling “run” when the killer paused in his rampage.
“He stood up to the bully Adam Lanza and saved nine of his classmates’ lives,” Lewis said. “I hope that I did that incredible courage justice when I was able to confront Alex Jones, who is also a bully. I hope that inspires other people to do the same.”
It could be a while before the plaintiffs collect anything. Jones’ lead attorney, Andino Reynal, told the judge he will appeal and ask the courts to drastically reduce the size of the verdict.
After the hearing, Reynal said he thinks the punitive amount will be reduced to as little as $1.5 million.
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.com ...
“the suffering he put them through by claiming for years that the nation’s deadliest school shooting was a hoax.”
There must be a video of him claiming it was a hoax. Right?
Not a video where he referenced other articles and had a is it or is it not session. Not a video where he had a guest with an opinion about odd things. But a video of Jones saying is was a hoax.
Nobody ever seems to be able to produce it.
Interesting...
How much does the FIB and just about the ENTIRE news media have to pay Trump for their "Trump-Russia collusion" HOAX?
The FIB and MOST of the media hacks KNEW it was a HOAX, too.
All kinds of ideas are thrown around in the marketplace of ideas. Jones just offered another idea.
Is this the one where dad was having a laugh immediately before grieving in front of cameras?
“Alex Jones ordered to pay $45.2M more over Sandy Hook lies”
what lies?
None of that involves specific individuals.
Here you have a public figure with a huge platform attacking regular people whose Kindergarten-aged children were murdered as lying government crisis actors.
Alex Jones stated "no one died" in Sandy Hook, and the incident was "staged," "synthetic," "manufactured," "a giant hoax" and "completely fake with actors."
You have always been able to sue for slander/libel/defamation in this country, don't act like Jones being sued for such was something unprecedented.
Yes they never produced this video of years of lies.
He is one of the most videoed men on the planet.
If there is video of this it should be out there.
I think he made some claim or reference to internet speculation once and apologized and never repeated it like they claim.
They make it sound like he has targeted them in some way repeatedly for years with lies which he has not.
It is ridiculous...
I think he said something once and never repeated it and has apologized.
He has not targeted them for years with lies like they claim
Show us the proof.
really cant stand when adults use the word “bully”...we used it when we were children..but not adults...in this case, umm,i think Adam Lanza was a little more than a bully...god, people are so weird nowadays...
I'm pretty sure I saw another video that wasn't as long winded where he claimed it was a hoax. But the following one was presented in court.
> What the heck did Alex Jones do to deserve this? <
Slander is in the eye of the beholder. Courts give wide latitude when the target is a public figure like Biden or Trump. But when the target is a private individual, things change and the law is less forgiving.
Alex Jones slandered private people, the parents of Sandy Hook victims. He accused those folks of being actors who lost no loved ones at all. Is that such a bad thing? That’s for a jury to decide.
Rick people like Alex Jones really should have a lawyer on staff to vet their possible comments. Evidently Jones has no such lawyer on his staff.
People don’t want to watch a boring show.
I just watched the clip
He did apologize for this and did not repeat the claims for years or target the poor families in how they make out.
I remember because it was quite a flap back then.
Jones covers news and gives opinion... He will say he’s a journalist who has covered hoaxes like Smulllet and WMDs.
Does he get it right all the time ? No. Does any journalist? No.
Dangerous precedent in my opinion.
Yeah that’s the one. I remember there was also some local official doing the same thing before going to a podium to comment on the shooting but all of these videos have been scrubbed from the internet. The school was supposedly abandoned since 2009 .
Thank you. Facts should matter.
This verdict will not stand. Texas only permits punitive damages up to $750K.
I believe the entire case will be reversed upon appeal due to major violations of due process by the trial judge.
> People don’t want to watch a boring show. <
Yes, indeed. It reminds of an old SNL skit, where Buck Henry plays a radio talk show host. He starts out by talking about some municipal bond initiative. But no one is interested. Henry ends up by saying a bunch of crazy and outrageous things, just to get people to call in.
I did a quick search, but couldn’t find the clip.
It will have to go all the way to the top (Supremes)
The courts are in on this. They and the media are out for Jones.
Just look at the tone of the AP article.
I have every sympathy for the families but come on....
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