It has been 10 years since Adam Lanza shot and killed 20 students and six teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary School. While the families of those affected were mourning the loss of their loved ones, Alex Jones was profiting off lies about the shooting – ultimately calling it a hoax.
It wasn’t a hoax – in fact, it was the exact opposite, a tragedy. As a result of his lies and claims, fans and supporters of Alex Jones continuously harassed the families of the victims – including physical confrontations, death threats, and attacks online. Even then, Jones continued to lie.
The harassment continued for years, leaving the families to fear for their lives. In 2018, those same families decided to take a stand against Alex Jones. “They took a stand for themselves, they took a stand to affirm that the lives of their loved ones,” said the plaintiff’s attorney.
After several weeks of trial in Waterbury, Connecticut, a six-person jury awarded the 15 plaintiffs – which included family members and an FBI agent (one of the first responders) – $965 million. The verdict comes at the expense of Alex Jones and his company, Free Speech Systems.
The prosecution is certainly happy with the verdict, considering they were asking jurors to award the families with $500 million – they ended up receiving nearly double that amount. The money won’t bring their loved ones back, but it does pay for the defamation and emotional distress.
“I’m just proud that what we were able to accomplish was to simply tell the truth. It shouldn’t be this hard, it shouldn’t be this scary. That’s all we did every day in that courtroom. … Everybody that took the stand told the truth, except for one,” said Robbie Parker, a father of a victim.
The plaintiff’s attorney, Chris Mattei, called the verdict a “resounding affirmation that people of goodwill, dedicated to truth, mindful of their responsibilities to their fellow citizens, can come together to protect the innocent,” adding that it was a testament to the families’ courage.
Alex Jones Watches Trial While Filming Livestream; Urges Fans to Send Him Money
Alex Jones wasn’t in the courtroom when the verdict was being read, but he was watching a live video of the trial and was live streaming for his fans during an episode of Infowars – his independent news service. He didn’t show any remorse or regret for his actions.
“Hey, folks, don’t go buying big homes… This must be what Hell’s like, they just read out the damages. Even though you don’t got the money,” said Jones during his Infowars show, as the verdict was being read. He even went as far as creating a fundraiser for supporters to donate.
“Remember, I’m in bankruptcy, we’ve got two years of appeals, the money you donate does not go to these people, it goes to fighting this fraud and stabilizing this company,” Jones explained. As of Thursday night, the campaign has raised over $200,000 of its $500,000 goal.
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After his first defamation trial in August, which ordered him to pay one family of a Sandy Hook victim $48 million, Jones now owes more than $1 billion to the families of Sandy Hook victims. He has a third defamation suit scheduled for later this year, so that number will only increase.
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