He didn’t present much of a defense at all. But Jones didn’t present a First Amendment defense to this. There were and still are, frankly, interesting First Amendment questions here. So these rulings against Jones – I think some people heard about the claims that were made by parents and thought, well, what about other conspiracy theories or false information that has been, at least in the past, protected by the First Amendment? I guess a lot of that back-and-forth went out the window when he didn’t show up for trial, right? He didn’t declare bankruptcy his primary business entity didn’t declare bankruptcy – it was a couple of sort of shell companies that he owns that declared bankruptcy. It was an attempt to force the plaintiffs into a more favorable way to settle these damages. The bankruptcy bid wasn’t so much about trying to declare bankruptcy himself. It’s unlikely that he has enough money to pay all of the damages that are likely to be awarded. But the gist of it is that four different juries are going to award damages. There will be four jury trials ultimately, because he was sued four times successfully. I mean, the damage calculations, they could be enormous. So we don’t know how much the damages will actually be.īut losing his bid for bankruptcy, presumably, would mean that whatever those damage calculations are, he’ll need to pay all of it? And so the jury trial, which was supposed to begin in April but will now begin in July, will determine the damages. However, the courts, in this case, found that he was responsible for that by default because he didn’t present a defense or engage with the defense.
#Alex jones sandy hook trial#
Normally, the trial would determine both whether he was responsible for defaming the families and intentionally inflicting emotional distress, and then, if so, what the damages would be. Texas Standard: How much have courts ordered Jones to pay the families of Sandy Hook?ĭan Solomon: So we don’t know yet. This transcript has been edited lightly for clarity: Listen to the interview above or read more in the transcript below. His latest attempt to skirt the eventual bill – total damages will be determined at jury trials starting next month – was to seek bankruptcy protection for some of his business entities, but that was denied.ĭan Solomon has been writing about this, and what he calls Alex Jones’s “ legal meltdown, ” for Texas Monthly. But Jones has so far avoided paying anything to the Sandy Hook families.
When a gunman killed 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., in 2012, Austin-based “Infowars” host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones described the shooting as “synthetic, completely fake with actors,” on his popular syndicated radio program.Ĭourts have found Jones responsible for defamation and intentionally inflicting emotional distress by default, because he didn’t present a defense or engage with the defense during his trials.
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