Alex Jones Ordered to Pay $965 Million to Sandy Hook Families

In the aftermath of the Sandy Hook massacre, in which 20 children and 6 administrators were killed, Jones claimed the shooting was a “hoax” and that the murdered children and their families were “crisis actors.” In both of the trials against Jones, family members and law enforcement officials have testified to the barrage of harassment they experienced at the hands of InfoWars viewers. Jackie Barden, whose son Daniel was killed in the shooting, testified in Connecticut about receiving letters from people claiming to have urinated on her son’s grave and threatening to dig up his body. 

Another victim’s mother, Nicole Hockley, described being sent death threats and photos of dead children, and how the resulting stress led her to sleep with a knife and baseball bat near her bed for fear of an attack. Robbie and Alissa Parker recalled how Jones held a broadcast the day of their daughter’s funeral, accusing them of “staging it” and of reading cue cards at a press conference several days before. 

Jones was combative throughout the trial, forcing the removal of the jury from the courtroom several times and claiming the trial to be little more than “a deep state” situation. “Is this a struggle session?” he exclaimed late last month. “Are we in China? I’ve already said I’m sorry, and I’m done saying I’m sorry.”

The conspiracy theorist’s disparagement of the proceedings continued outside the court, where Jones at one point told reporters that it was “not really a trial” but “a literal kangaroo court.” Jones’ attorney kicked the trial off by claiming his client is the real victim in the case, describing him as a “scapegoat” and “whipping boy.”

As with the previous trial in Austin, Texas, Jones had already been found guilty of defamation by default judgment, with the jury trial serving to determine the amount owed in damages. Families suing Jones have accused the conspiracy theorist of hiding his assets in an attempt to skirt reduce his own liability. In July, InfoWars parent company Free Speech Systems LLC made an emergency bankruptcy filing, despite investigations revealing that InfoWars had raked in upwards of 160 million dollars between 2015 and 2018. Jones had previously bragged about his maneuvering to avoid paying damages.

It’s going to pretty hard for Jones to maneuver out of the more than half a billion dollars he now owes to the families of the victims.