Infowars founder and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones was ordered to pay almost $1 billion in damages to the families of Sandy Hook victims, after he used his platform to spread misinformation about the school shooting massacre.
A Connecticut jury on Wednesday ordered Jones to pay a total of $965 million to eight of the victims’ families as well as one FBI agent, with awards ranging from $28.8 million to $120 million. The plaintiffs accused Jones of using his right-wing website and talk show to argue the 2012 school shooting was a hoax and merely a ploy by the government to impose stricter gun laws. The families testified that Jones’ lies led to years of harassment and threats from his followers, of which he profited off of.
The false narrative peddled by Jones caused him to face liability for defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, as well as violations of the state’s Unfair Trade Practices Act. Jones made an appearance on his online show while the jury read its decision, scoffing at the penalties and urging his followers to donate money to his company and buy his merchandise to “fight this fraud” and save his website. “Ain’t going to be happening. Ain’t no money,” he said.
Jones was already found liable for the damages after he refused to hand over critical evidence ahead of the trial, and the jury was only tasked with determining how much the conspiracy theorist should pay to the plaintiffs. Earlier this year, Jones admitted in court that one of the deadliest school shootings in the US was in fact real, even going as far as to express some regret for his previous statements. However, in an angry outburst on Wednesday, Jones said he was done being remorseful. “I’ve already said I’m sorry hundreds of times, and I’m done saying I’m sorry,” he exclaimed. “I legitimately thought it might have been staged and I stand by that. I don’t apologize for it.”
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