[DiogenesLamp]

These made it plain that Jones knew all along that the Sandy Hook massacre was real and that he simply was making up his version in order generate publicity for his show. That appears to be the rationale for the ruling against Jones.

True or not, you impose a billion dollar penalty on someone, you've lost any moral authority you ever had. Dictatorial power should always be condmemned and opposed.

[Pelham]

Wasn’t this case a civil suit? The parents of the murdered children suing Jones?

If it is then this was initiated by those parents and not government. The court is acting as referee between private parties so this isn’t a government penalty. You often hear of cases where damages are ridiculous but usually those are against corporations.