AUSTIN, Texas – The father of a 6-year-old boy killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting testified Tuesday that conspiracy theorist Alex Jones made his life “hell” by claiming the killings were a deception
In more than an hour of emotional testimony during which he often fought back tears, Neil Heslin said he has suffered online abuse, anonymous phone calls and street harassment.
“What was said about me and Sandy Hook itself resonates around the world,” Heslin said. “As time went on, I really realized how dangerous it was. … My life has been threatened. I fear for my life, I fear for my safety.”
Heslin said his home and car have been shot at, and his lawyers said Monday that the family had a “reunion” in Austin since the trial began and had been isolated under security.
Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, the parents of 6-year-old Jesse Lewis, have sued Jones and his media company Free Speech Systems over the harassment and threats they and other parents say they suffered for years at the hands of Jones and their Infowars website. Jones claimed the 2012 attack that killed 20 first-graders and six staff members at the Connecticut school was a hoax or fake.
Heslin and Lewis are seeking at least $150 million in the case.
“Today is very important to me and it’s been a long time coming … to stand up to Alex Jones for what he said and did to me. To restore my son’s honor and legacy,” Heslin said.
Heslin also said that while he doesn’t know if the Sandy Hook hoax theory originated with Jones, it was Jones who “ignited the match and started the fire” with an online platform and broadcast which reached millions of people worldwide.
Heslin told the jury he was holding his son with a bullet hole in the head, even describing the extent of the damage to his son’s body. A key segment of the case is a 2017 Infowars broadcast that said Heslin holding her son did not happen.
An apology from Jones wouldn’t be good enough at this point, he said.
“Alex started this fight,” Heslin said, “and I’m going to finish this fight.”
Jones was not in court during Heslin’s testimony, a move the father called “cowardly.” Jones has skipped much of the testimony during the two-week trial and had a cadre of bodyguards in the courtroom when he attended. Tuesday was the last day scheduled to testify and Jones was expected to take the stand as the only witness in his defense.
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Scarlett Lewis was also called to the stand on Tuesday.
Heslin and Lewis suffer from a form of post-traumatic stress disorder that comes from constant trauma, similar to what soldiers in war zones or victims of child abuse suffer from, a forensic psychologist who studied their cases and met with them.
Jones has described the lawsuit against him as an attack on his First Amendment rights.
At stake in the trial is how much Jones will pay. The parents have asked the jury to award $150 million in damages for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The jury will then consider whether Jones and his company will pay punitive damages.
The trial is just one of the many faces of Jones.
Courts in Texas and Connecticut have already held Jones liable for defamation for his portrayal of the Sandy Hook massacre as a hoax involving actors with the goal of increasing gun control. In both states, judges entered default judgments against Jones without trial because he failed to respond to subpoenas and turn over documents.
Jones has already tried to financially protect free speech systems. The company filed for federal bankruptcy protection last week. The Sandy Hook families have sued Jones separately over their financial claims, arguing that the company is trying to protect millions owned by Jones and his family through shell companies.
