AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – A Texas jury on Thursday ordered conspiracy theorist Alex Jones to pay more than $4 million in compensatory damages to the parents of a 6-year-old boy who was killed in the shooting spree of ‘Sandy Hook Elementary School, marking the first time the Infowars host has been held financially accountable for repeatedly claiming the deadliest school shooting in US history was a hoax.
The jury in Austin has yet to decide how much Host of Infowars must pay punitive damages Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewiswhose son Jesse Lewis was among the 20 children and six educators killed in the 2012 attack in Newtown, Connecticut.
The parents had at least looked for it $150 million in compensation for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Jones’ lawyer asked the jury to cap the damages at $8, a dollar for each of the compensatory charges they’re considering, and Jones himself said that any award above $2 million “would sink us.”
It likely won’t be the last trial against Jones over his claims that the attack was carried out in the interest of increased gun controls. A Connecticut judge has ruled against him in a similar lawsuit filed by the families of other victims and an FBI agent who worked on the case.
The Texas award could set a marker for other cases against Jones and underscores the financial threat he faces. It also raises new questions about the ability of Infowars, which has been banned from YouTube, Spotify and Twitter for hate speech, to continue operating, although the company’s finances remain unclear.
Jones admitted during the trial that the attack was real and that he was wrong to have lied about it. But Heslin and Lewis told jurors that an apology would not be enough and asked them to make Jones pay for the years of suffering he has put them and other Sandy Hook families through.
Jones media company Free Speech Systems, which is the parent company of Infowars, declared bankruptcy during the two-week trial.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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