Alex Jones Could Owe Parents Of Sandy Hook Victims Millions More—Here’s Why He’s On Trial Again

Breaking Business Alex Jones Could Owe Parents Of Sandy Hook Victims Millions More—Here’s Why He’s On Trial Again Brian Bushard Forbes Staff I cover breaking news for Forbes Following New! Follow this author to stay notified about their latest stories. Got it! Sep 13, 2022, 11:02am EDT | Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Topline Alex Jones and his company Infowars are expected to pay millions to the parents of students killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting in a defamation trial opening in Connecticut Tuesday, more than a month after a jury in Texas ordered the Infowars host must pay nearly $50 million—a massive blow to Jones and his controversial far-right platform. A defamation trial against Infowars host Alex Jones over his false claims around the Sandy Hook .

. . [+] school shooting began in Connecticut on Tuesday.

(Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call) CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images Key Facts A six-member jury in Connecticut State Court will decide how much Jones should pay 15 plaintiffs, representing eight victims and former FBI agent William Aldenberg—who responded to the shooting—for defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress and violations of the state Unfair Trade Practices Act, by using false claims to boost his audience and sell more merchandise. The trial in Connecticut will only decide how much money Jones must pay—he already has been found liable (in Connecticut and Texas) for defamation after refusing to provide documents ordered by the courts. The parents of the students argue they have been harassed by Jones’ followers and have received death threats following his conspiracy theories, including false claims that the parents of students had lied about the shooting—even that the students were paid actors hired by Democrats.

It comes just over a month after Jones was ordered to pay $45. 2 million in punitive damages and $4. 1 million in compensatory damages to the parents of a 6-year-old student—one of the 26 students and teachers killed in the massacre— in Texas just over a month ago.

The payment could be higher in Connecticut, where the state’s trade practices act does not impose a limit on punitive damages (Texas caps it at $750,000 per parent, and an attorney representing Jones said he will try to reduce it to $1. 5 million total, Reuters reported). Key Background Jones’ legal troubles began in 2018, when the families of 10 Sandy Hook shooting victims filed four defamation lawsuits against him and Infowars parent company Free Speech Systems, six years after a gunman killed 20 first-grade students and six teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

Jones had tried to delay the procedures and put his business into bankruptcy in an attempt to halt the litigation process, although the case was dismissed after parents intervened, calling it a “stall tactic. ” His company agreed to face trial last month. The families of nine victims also took him to a federal bankruptcy court in Texas last month, asking a judge to order him to relinquish control of his company after having “transferred millions of dollars” to himself—a Texas judge could hear the families’ discovery motion Tuesday.

Big Number $270 million. That’s how much Jones and Free Speech Systems are estimated to be worth, according to a forensic psychiatrist who testified in the Texas trial, with a low estimate of $130 million. Contra Jones has since admitted that the shooting was real, although last month he called the judge and prosecution in the Texas trial “ demonically possessed ” and members of a “cult ideology of the new world order” on Infowars.

He showed up to the courthouse in Texas with a piece of duct tape over his mouth that read “Save the 1st. ” Further Reading Alex Jones Ordered To Pay $4. 1 Million To Parents Of Sandy Hook Shooting Victim (Forbes) Alex Jones’ Infowars Site Files For Bankruptcy — Here Are The Lawsuits That Led To Millions In Legal Fees (Forbes) ‘Do You Know What Perjury Is?’: Alex Jones’ Lawyers Apparently Forwarded His Damning Texts To Opposing Counsel (Forbes) Jury Hits Alex Jones With $45 Million In Punitive Damages Over Sandy Hook Conspiracy Claims (Forbes) Alex Jones Calls Sandy Hook Trial Judge ‘Demonically Possessed’ Just Before He’s Set To Testify (Forbes) Send me a secure tip .

Brian Bushard Editorial Standards Print Reprints & Permissions.