“It was reported that he said that nobody died and that the victims were child ‘crisis actors’.”
That’s what Jones was openly saying on his program. If he actually believed what he was saying he would have had an effective defense because ignorance isn’t a crime.
But his own texts and emails were entered into evidence, and they showed that he knew right from the start that the shootings were real and that the children were dead. But claiming otherwise made for good programming so he decided to run with that story.
A result of his callous indifference is that parents of the murdered children were subjected to harassment by people who believed that the massacre was all an act.
The penalty imposed by the court seems harsh, but he brought this on all by himself. A case of FAFO, conspiracy peddler division.
He said himself in court that it was “crazy” of him to claim that Sandy Hook was a hoax. He said that he eventually came to believe that it lacked credibility and tried to distance himself from it; and then he tried to tie himself to President Trump’s coattails by claiming that he was being attacked by ‘enemies of Trump’.
The guy has always struck me as an irresponsible and money-grubbing nut.