Posted on 08/05/2022 3:13:55 PM PDT by Coronal
U.S. conspiracy theorist Alex Jones must pay the parents of a 6-year-old boy killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre $45.2 million in punitive damages - on top of $4.1 million in compensatory damages already awarded - for falsely claiming the shooting was a hoax, a Texas jury decided on Friday.
Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, separated parents of slain 6-year-old Jesse Lewis, testified that followers of Jones harassed them and sent them death threats for years in the false belief that they were lying about their son's death in the Dec. 14, 2012, shooting that killed 20 children and six staff at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.
The 12-person jury on Thursday decided on the compensatory damages following a two-week trial in the defamation lawsuit presided over by Judge Maya Guerra Gamble in state court in the Texas capital of Austin, where Jones' radio show and webcast Infowars are based.
The parents had sought $145.9 million in punitive damages and $150 million in compensatory damages. Compensatory damages are awarded to cover a plaintiff's suffering and losses. Punitive damages are awarded to punish a defendant's actions.
Jones, who has been a prominent figure in American right-wing circles and a supporter of former President Donald Trump, had called the Sandy Hook massacre a hoax by the U.S. government staged using crisis actors to serve as a pretext for taking away Americans' guns.
"We ask that you send a very, very simple message, and that is: stop Alex Jones. Stop the monetization of misinformation and lies," Wesley Todd Ball, a lawyer for the parents, told jurors earlier on Friday before they began deliberations on punitive damages.
The Sandy Hook gunman, Adam Lanza, used a Remington Bushmaster rifle to carry out the massacre. It ended when Lanza killed himself.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
“I must Wonder if the state supreme court which I believe has jurisdiction will uphold this verdict.”
Maybe his defense should have pursued an insanity or more an entertainment type defense strategy.
Between the underground “lizard alien people” and “ant alien people type” creatures in control of our Pentagon staff officers at top secret underground military bases, which run from coast to coast, (and maybe through the middle of the planet to China), and their travel from other galaxies to earth... MAYBE the defense could have played with that a bit more in the court.
And yes, he was all into that level in his head, or at least his audience’s heads.
In the end, the content of real and truthful news and discussions Jones would get into, were greatly damaged by his undeniable arrogance and seeming embrace of the absurd.
You just might be onto something. I always thought he was a plant to discredit critics of the Deep State.
We're at the level of criminalizing unpopular opinion. I can think of banana republics that show more respect for civil rights.
Makes sense. If he settles, he’s essentially signing off on
and agreeing with the results.
If it had been your child would anything ever be enough?
No not really, but then I understand the system and it’s not
intended to turn out like this.
Granted, an extra million or so, but 42.5 million? It’s
not going to improve their lives. It’s not going to do
much more than bankrupt the guy. Look, I don’t mind that
for what he did, but it’s just not productive.
can I sue Hillary Clinton for calling me deplorable for ... 1 trillion?
Probably gross. I doubt his expenses were huge but it probably wasn’t all profit.
His personal annual salary was $6M at one point.
Your boy better have saved his dough…
For what Jones did money of any amount is little punishment in essence Jones only will only get what he reaped in judgement after his death this is but a vert small balm to a wounded heart that will never truly heal
Who gets the punitive damages? The government I suppose.
this award will be appealed...as ignorant as Jones is...he still has a first amendment right to free speech...
But if you make money from it, you’re going to be a target.
from this day forward:
If you hurt someone’s FEELINGS with insensitive, wrongful and crude remarks you can be sued into extinction.
No way aligning with AJ but pointing out the legal precedent.
FWIW the 1/6 committee are already subpoenaing the doc’s his attorneys sent to the plaintiff’s, as is his ex-wife to be. He’s about to have a lot more fun with them.
Not Liable. “I think” means that what you typed was only your opinion.
Hopefully you know I’m kidding around. But in seriousness, spreading insane conspiracies about murdered children for ad revenue is about as low as it goes.
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