Alex Jones Ordered To Pay Damages After Losing Sandy Hook Legal Cases
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Far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones is liable for damages after claiming the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre was a hoax.
The Infowars host previously told his listeners the 2012 shooting was ‘fake’ and ‘it just pretty much didn’t happen’. He tried to perpetuate that it was carried out by actors employed by gun-control advocates, before later acknowledging it actually occurred. However, Sandy Hook parents have still faced death threats from his followers over the years.
The claims are baseless. These are the facts: 20-year-old Adam Lanza walked into the school and killed 26 people, including 20 children aged between six and seven, before killing himself as police arrived. It’s the deadliest mass shooting at an elementary school in US history.
Now, Judge Maya Guerra Gamble in Austin, Texas, has ruled Jones is responsible for damages in three defamation lawsuits brought by parents of two children killed in the shooting, after he repeatedly failed to turn over court documents for the cases. The rulings are known as ‘default judgments’ due to Jones’ refusal to comply.
‘The court finds that defendants’ failure to comply… is greatly aggravated by consistent pattern of discovery abuse throughout similar cases pending before this court,’ Gamble wrote, as per CNN.
‘The court finds that defendants’ discovery conduct in this case is the result of flagrant bad faith and callous disregard for the responsibilities of discovery under the rule.’
In a statement posted to the Infowars website, Jones and attorney Norman Pattis criticised the judge’s decision. ‘It takes no account of the tens of thousands of documents produced by the defendants, the hours spent sitting for depositions and the various sworn statements filed in these cases,’ it reads.
‘We are distressed by what we regard as a blatant abuse of discretion by the trial court. We are determined to see that these cases are heard on the merits.’
A jury will be convened to consider the exact amount in damages.
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