Alex Jones: Will a huge legal award crush his Infowars empire?

Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones was handed a large decision successful a Connecticut tribunal this week. But volition relatives of the Sandy Hook victims beryllium capable to cod the wealth - and does it mean he'll halt spreading lies?

He hasn't been deterred yet.

Alex Jones was astatine it again the time aft being handed a $965m (£860m) judgement successful court, fulminating against what helium calls the "globalist" "New World Order" forces attempting to muzzle him.

"Their ngo is to unopen maine up and instrumentality maine disconnected the aerial and they accidental I'm the pb elephant," helium told his Infowars audience. "They instrumentality maine out, they deliberation they're going to instrumentality you out."

Far from shutting up, Jones has continued his broadsides against the ineligible strategy and what helium calls the evil forces that reason him.

But experts accidental Jones is present heavy trouble. This latest verdict comes aft a akin grant successful Texas totalling astir $50m (£44m).

And further enactment is yet to travel - different defamation lawsuit aboriginal this twelvemonth and a imaginable probe into the relation Jones and different Infowars employees played successful the 6 January onslaught connected the US Capitol.

The lawyer for the Sandy Hook families, Chris Mattei, called the Connecticut determination "a verdict against Alex Jones's lies and their poisonous spread, and a verdict for information and our communal humanity."

But anyone hoping that tribunal judgements would deter Jones and Infowars from spreading paranoia and conspiracy theories volition beryllium sorely disappointed.

Rumour and suspicion has been precise lucrative for Jones and Infowars' genitor institution Free Speech Systems. His empire has grown from a section public-access TV amusement successful Austin, Texas to a multimedia institution hawking nutritional supplements and survivalist gear.

"We cognize helium makes a batch of money," says Bernard Pettingill Jr, a forensic economist who testified astatine Jones's defamation proceeding successful Texas. "He conscionable won't crook implicit the records."

Pettingill estimates that Jones and Free Speech Systems person combined nett assets of betwixt $135m and $270m. Jones personally took $62m retired of the institution past year, Pettingill says.

Despite his wealthiness and thriving income business, the speech amusement big has repeatedly claimed he's retired of wealth and has "only" $2m to his name.

Earlier this year, Free Speech Systems filed for bankruptcy. A trustee has been assigned to probe precisely however overmuch Jones and his assorted companies are worth, and whether the debts the institution claims it has are successful information real.

"If the trustee comes backmost and says 'I don't judge this indebtedness is legitimate', past Alex Jones's statement that helium doesn't person capable wealth to wage immoderate magnitude of the judgement evaporates," says Nicholas Koffroth, a bankruptcy lawyer with ineligible steadfast Fox Rothschild.

"These monolithic judgements springiness the plaintiffs a batch of powerfulness successful the bankruptcy lawsuit and successful their pursuit of Alex Jones individually," helium says.

But immoderate specified pursuit means further litigation - and that gives Jones accidental to stall.

He's been unfastened astir his intent to bash precisely that.

The Texas judgement volition beryllium reduced due to the fact that of a authorities instrumentality that limits punitive damages, says Steven Lubet, a instrumentality prof astatine Northwestern University.

A justice could likewise sound down the immense compensatory damages awarded successful Connecticut, truthful it's improbable that helium volition beryllium forced to wage anyplace adjacent a cardinal dollars to Sandy Hook families.

But the archetypal amounts are truthful great, immoderate simplification mightiness not matter.

"By making amusive of the damages and calling the Connecticut justice a tyrant, helium has not laid the groundwork for getting a reduction," Lubet says.

"It inactive mightiness happen, but adjacent if the justice cuts it successful half, helium inactive can't wage it. This is crushing for him."

Jones, who did not respond to a petition for comment, inactive has a receptive assemblage - millions of listeners and viewers some successful the United States and elsewhere astir the world. He spent a ample portion of his on-air clip this week drumming up donations and advertizing merchandise discounts.

His concern exemplary depends connected maintaining a authorities of perpetual anxiousness astir powerful, shadowy forces. On his show, Jones riffs connected quality stories and breaking events, asking questions and supposedly probing for hidden meanings. At each crook helium casts uncertainty connected what helium calls "official narratives".

The strategy has cultivated a loyal instrumentality base. Pettingill, the forensic economist, points retired that idiosyncratic sent Jones $9m successful Bitcoin the time aft the Texas verdict.

And nary substance his ineligible woes, oregon what happens with his Infowars marque oregon different companies, Jones volition inactive person wide escaped code protections nether the US Constitution arsenic agelong arsenic helium steers wide of defamatory broadcasts similar the ones that got him into occupation implicit Sandy Hook.

"This is America," says Lubet. "He tin speech astir immoderate helium wants."