US conspiracy narrator Alex Jones has been ordered to pay more than $4 million in compensation to a victim’s parents for his false claims about a massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. That was decided by a court in Texas. Jones has previously claimed that the December 2012 shooting was staged by actors. A 20-year-old shot dead 20 school children and six teachers in Newtown.
The victim’s parents had sued the right-wing radio host and founder of the website Infowars over his claims, demanding $150 million in damages. In court, they spoke about the emotional pain caused by the 48-year-old’s lies. Jones has impacted so many lives and must be held responsible. His lawyer argued that the plaintiffs could not prove that his client’s words actually caused harm.
Jones, who has appeared at campaign events for Republican Donald Trump in the past, testified in the trial regarding the massacre: “It’s 100 percent real.” He also admitted that it was irresponsible of him to call the school shooting a hoax.
Jones has repeatedly spread various conspiracy stories and claimed, for example, that the US government was involved in the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York. Plaintiffs’ attorney Mark Bankston spoke out loud after the decision New York Times: “I hope that all other media people who see this and think that they can defame people in this way now know that there are very expensive consequences for doing so.”
There should now be a separate, shorter process, which is about further damages. This could also be awarded if the court finds Jones’ behavior to be particularly offensive.