Infowars Host Alex Jones Must Pay $965 Million in Sandy Hook Damages

Several hundred pages of court documents were filed Tuesday in an attempt to thwart attempts by Infowars host Alex Jones to hide hundreds of millions of dollars in damages awarded to victims of the Sandy Hook shooting. Attorneys for the plaintiffs, including eight families and an FBI agent who responded to the shooting, say that Jones’ attempt to escape his liabilities by filing for bankruptcy does not stand up to scrutiny.

Jurors in Waterbury, Connecticut, ordered Jones on October 12 to pay $965 million in compensatory damages to the eight Sandy Hook victims’ relatives and an FBI agent who responded to the school. The jury also said they should receive punitive damages.

The families had alleged that Jones defamed them and spread false conspiracy theories about the attack. They said that the lies on his radio show and website, along with those on his television program, led to years of death threats and other harassment.

In their testimony, the families referred to people who allegedly showed up at their homes, confronted them in public and hurled abusive comments on social media and in emails. Some of them said they received death and rape threats.

Jones was found liable last year for damages to the families for defamation, infliction of emotional distress and violating Connecticut’s Unfair Trade Practices Act. The jury awarded punitive damages because of his heinous behavior, the attorney representing the families said in a statement.

The trial was an emotional one with weeks of testimonies from the plaintiffs, who described how their losses and trauma were aggravated by the lies told on the Infowars radio show. The plaintiffs pleaded with the jury to make sure they got money for their losses and to send a message to other conspiracy theorists who profit from lies.

Judge Barbara Bellis issued an order barring Jones from relocating his assets outside of the United States, as the families had claimed. She added that he may not transfer his ownership of Infowars to another party without her permission, as he is currently accused of doing in an earlier trial.

During the trial, lawyers for the victims’ families were forced to endure a number of bizarre incidents and shocking revelations, such as when Jones’ lawyer accidentally sent the plaintiffs’ lawyers two years’ worth of text messages from Jones’ phone. This material contradicted the sworn testimony of Jones and his company that he had not communicated with anyone regarding the shooting.

In addition, the families were forced to witness Jones’ defense attorneys make up and contradict their own testimony. The plaintiffs also were able to see evidence of how much money Jones has made from his show.

The trial was marked by a string of rebukes and emotional testimony from the plaintiffs, who recounted how the lies on Jones’ show compounded their grief. The jury was allowed to hear from Jones and a social media expert about the impact of his website on the families’ lives, as well as a cyber security specialist and a corporate attorney for Free Speech Systems, which owns Infowars.