On Oct. 12 in Waterbury, Connecticut, a jury decided that Alex Jones is to pay $965 million dollars to eight of the victim’s families from the Sandy Hook mass shooting. Jones, a conspiracy theorist, has made false claims and statements that the Sandy Hook shooting that killed 20 children and six teachers was a hoax. Some families of the victims and an FBI agent who responded to the tragedy took legal action against Jones, suing him for defamation.
Jones has now conceded to his false statements, acknowledging that the mass shooting was in fact real. Previously, Jones had made statements that the shooting was orchestrated by the government in an effort to fuel anti-gun legislation. He proposed that the victims of the massacre were paid trauma actors. “You’ve got parents laughing – ‘hahaha’ – and then they walk over to the camera and go ‘boo hoo hoo,’ and not just one but a bunch of parents doing this and then photos of kids that are still alive they said died?” Jones said about the Sandy Hook victims.
Jones has a website, Infowars, where he expresses his conspiracy theories and broadcasts news. Jones proposes a wide range of right-wing conspiracy theories, ranging from ones involving COVID-19, the war in Ukraine and the Jan. 6 insurrection. Jones first got his start as a conspiracy theorist while acting as a fill-in news host, where he would broadcast his theories. In 1999, he co-founded Infowars, which is a company affiliated with Free Speech LLC, an extreme right-wing news network. Free Speech LLC filed for bankruptcy this year.
Despite now acknowledging that he was incorrect in his claims about the mass shooting and admitting that the Sandy Hook shooting was in fact real, after the trial verdict Jones urged his supporters to donate to Infowars so he could combat the results of the defamation case. “Do these people actually think they’re getting any money?” Jones said. It is clear Jones plans to continue pursuing legal action regarding the verdict, although he has most likely been left in financial ruin amidst the verdict. “For hundreds of thousands of dollars, I can keep them in court for years. I can appeal this stuff,” Jones said. Jones has been sued numerous times over the years because of statements he has said.
The plaintiffs in the trial, the families of Sandy Hook victims were overwhelmed with relief, disbelief and emotion when hearing the verdict of the defamation case. They were hugging each other and crying. As of now, it remains unclear how much the families will specifically receive. Regardless, Wednesday’s verdict was a huge win for the families, as it validated the trauma they’ve suffered, and debunked statements suggesting that the loss of their loved ones wasn’t real and a “government hoax.” A victim’s father, Robbie Parker stated on the stand, “Every day in that courtroom, we got up on the stand and we told the truth,” he said. “Telling the truth shouldn’t be so hard, and it shouldn’t be so scary.”
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