Jury orders Infowars host to pay $6.4m with punitive damages to come
A Texas jury yesterday ordered conspiracy theorist Alex Jones to pay more than US$4 million (NZ$6.4m) – significantly less than the US$150m being sought – in compensatory damages to the parents of a 6-yearold boy killed in the Sandy Hook massacre, marking the first time the Infowars host has been held financially liable for repeatedly claiming the deadliest school shooting in US history was a hoax.
The Austin jury must still decide how much the Infowars host should pay in punitive damages to Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, whose son Jesse Lewis was among the 20 children and six educators who were killed in the 2012 attack in Newtown, Connecticut.
The parents had sought at least US$150m in compensation for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Jones’ attorney asked the jury to limit damages to US$8 – one dollar for each of the compensation charges they are considering – and Jones himself said any award over US$2m ‘‘would sink us.’’
It likely won’t be the last judgment against Jones – who was not in the courtroom – over his claims that the attack was staged in the interests of increasing gun controls.
A Connecticut judge has ruled against him in a similar lawsuit brought by other victims’ families and an FBI agent who worked on the case. He also faces another trial in Austin.
Jones’ lead attorney, Andino Reynal, winked at his co-counsel before leaving the courtroom. He declined to comment on the verdict.
Outside the courthouse, the plaintiffs’ attorney, Mark Bankston, insisted that the US$4.11m amount wasn’t a disappointment, noting it was only part of the damages Jones will have to pay.
The jury returns today to hear more evidence about Jones and his company’s finances.
‘‘We aren’t done folks,’’ Bankston said. ‘‘We knew coming into this case it was necessary to shoot for the moon to get the jury to understand we were serious and passionate. After tomorrow, he’s going to owe a lot more.’’
The total amount awarded in this case could set a marker for the other lawsuits against Jones and underlines the financial threat he’s facing. 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 has portrayed the lawsuit as an attack on his First Amendment rights.