New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Jones rants about judge
Alex Jones, the noted host of InfoWars, made critical statements about the Connecticut judge who has ordered escalating $25,000 sanctions against him until he submits to pretrial testimony in a longstanding lawsuit with some of the families of the Sandy Hook shooting victims.
Jones has twice defied court orders to give testimony, pointing to doctor’s orders for him to avoid stressful situations. However, Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis, who is overseeing the matter, ordered the fines this week and said it would take effect Friday.
“We got this judge up in Connecticut, if you could call it that, this thing that has just cheated us every way, lied about us, said we didn’t give them this, sanctioned us for not giving them the Sandy Hook marketing,” Jones said in a Thursday episode of his InfoWars show. “It’s like saying give me the unicorn. Don’t have one, lady. I know you got a leprechaun.”
In a show clip shared by Media Matters for America, Jones later said: “Oh, I’m not saying this judge or any of these lawyers are pedophiles. I’m just saying the news and the left promotes pedophilia while attacking the family, and the Democratic Party itself just signed an executive order that will destroy women’s sports. That’s what I said.”
While Bellis could have issued a warrant for Jones’ arrest for failing to submit to testimony, she opted for a fine that escalates should he further delay complying with the order.
“If Mr. Jones’ counsel this afternoon informs (the families’) counsel that he will sit on Friday (for questioning under oath) and if he does, there will be no fine,” the judge said as an example. “If Mr. Jones sits on Tuesday, April 5, the fine will be $25,000 for Friday and $50,000 for Monday for a total of $75,000.”
Jones, who has used his “InfoWars” show to call the shooting that killed 26 first-grade students and educators a hoax, did say on the program that he intends to go to Connecticut and sit for the deposition. However, it was unclear when he would travel to the state.
“So you know what? I’m going to go up there so they can clap their irons on me, whatever, because at least I’m a grown man, I know God,” Jones said on his show.
Jones previously offered an FBI agent and 18 Sandy Hook families each $120,000 to settle legal matters. However, the agent and 14 of the families rejected the offer.
Jones has lost three defamation suits filed in connection with his remarks about the Sandy Hook shooting — one in Connecticut and two in Texas. Hearings start this month for damages in one of the Texas cases. He faces a similar hearing in Connecticut in August.
Jones has been telling his “InfoWars” listeners that he has been stressed while contending with potential cardiac symptoms from a previous COVID-19 infection.
An attorney representing Jones in Connecticut, Cameron Atkinson, relayed these issues to Bellis when arguing against an arrest warrant for his client’s failure to appear for a deposition.
When opting instead for fines, meant to be coercive, Bellis said: “It is clear that the (families) simply want and are entitled to the deposition of Mr. Jones who has continued to deliberately disregard the court process.”