Alex Jones must pay Sandy Hook families nearly $1 billion for hoax claims, jury says - Reuters.com

Oct 12 (Reuters) - Right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones indispensable wage astatine slightest $965 cardinal successful damages to galore families of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook wide shooting for falsely claiming they were actors who faked the tragedy, a Connecticut assemblage said connected Wednesday.

The verdict, which came aft 3 weeks of grounds successful a authorities tribunal successful Waterbury, Connecticut, acold outstripped the $49 cardinal Jones was ordered to wage successful August by a Texas assemblage successful a akin lawsuit brought by 2 different Sandy Hook parents.

The Connecticut verdict applies to some Jones and his company, Free Speech Systems LLC, the proprietor of Jones' Infowars website. FSS filed for bankruptcy successful July.

The plaintiffs successful the Connecticut lawsuit included much than a twelve relatives of 20 children and six unit members who were gunned down astatine Sandy Hook Elementary School successful December 2012. Jones claimed for years that the massacre was staged arsenic portion of a authorities crippled to instrumentality distant Americans' guns.

Jurors said the plaintiffs should besides beryllium awarded attorney's fees, which are acceptable to beryllium determined successful November.

During a unrecorded broadcast arsenic the verdict was read, Jones vowed to entreaty and said his company's ongoing bankruptcy volition support Infowars successful the meantime.

"We're warring Goliath," helium said.

Jones' lawyer did not instantly respond to a petition for comment.

Christopher Mattei, a lawyer for the families, said extracurricular the courthouse that the verdict was "against Alex Jones, his lies and their poisonous spread, and a verdict for information and for our communal humanity."

Outside the courthouse, Robbie Parker, 1 of the plaintiffs successful the case, thanked the assemblage for its verdict. "Everybody who took the basal told the truth," Parker said. "Except for one. The 1 who proclaims that that's what helium does. But portion the information was being said successful the courtroom, helium was lasting close here, lying."

Jones was recovered liable successful a default judgement past twelvemonth aft helium failed to comply with tribunal orders.

During closing arguments past week, Mattei said Jones cashed successful for years connected lies astir the shooting, which drove postulation to his Infowars website and boosted income of its assorted products.

Infowars' finances are not public, but according to proceedings grounds the tract brought successful gross of $165 cardinal betwixt 2016 and 2018. An economist successful the Texas lawsuit estimated that Jones is personally worthy betwixt $135 cardinal and $270 million.

The families suffered a decade-long run of harassment and decease threats by Jones’ followers, Mattei said.

“Every azygous 1 of these families (was) drowning successful grief, and Alex Jones enactment his ft close connected apical of them,” Mattei told jurors.

ANGUISHED TESTIMONY

Jones’ lawyer countered during closing arguments that the plaintiffs had shown scant grounds of quantifiable losses. The attorney, Norman Pattis, urged jurors to disregard the governmental undercurrents successful the case.

“This is not a lawsuit astir politics," Pattis said. “It’s astir however overmuch to compensate the plaintiffs.”

Douglas E. Mirell, a lawyer and defamation adept who was not progressive successful the case, said the sizable verdict sent a wide connection of "revulsion" from the jury.

"His refusal to ain up to the mendacity and lies that helium promulgated clip and clip again implicit galore years has present caught up with him," Mirell said of Jones.

The proceedings was marked by weeks of anguished grounds from the families, who filled the assemblage each time and took turns recounting however Jones’ lies astir Sandy Hook compounded their grief. An FBI cause who responded to the shooting was besides a plaintiff successful the case.

Jones, who has since acknowledged that the shooting occurred, besides testified and concisely threw the proceedings into chaos arsenic helium railed against his “liberal” critics and refused to apologize to the families.

In August, different assemblage recovered that Jones and his institution must wage $49.3 million to Sandy Hook parents successful a akin lawsuit successful Austin, Texas, wherever the office of Jones' Infowars conspiracy mentation website is located.

Jones' lawyers person said they anticipation to void astir of the payout successful the Texas lawsuit earlier it is approved by a judge, calling it excessive nether authorities law.

Connecticut does not spot caps connected damages, though Jones could entreaty the verdict connected different ineligible grounds.

Mattei said the families would spell to immoderate tribunal indispensable to enforce the verdict "for arsenic agelong arsenic it takes, due to the fact that that's what justness requires."

Reporting by Jack Queen successful New York, Tom Hals successful Wilmington, Del., and Jacqueline Thomsen successful Washington Editing by Noeleen Walder, Mark Porter and Matthew Lewis

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