NBC interview angers Sandy Hook families
HARTFORD, Conn. — The families of some Sandy Hook shooting victims are angered that NBC is airing an interview by Megyn Kelly with a conspiracy theorist who has claimed the massacre never happened.
Nelba Marquez-greene, whose 6-year-old daughter, Ana Grace, was among the 26 people killed in the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, said Monday that she fears the NBC interview with “Infowars” host Alex Jones will encourage other conspiracy theorists who have harassed her and accused her of being part of a hoax.
“Any time you give someone like Alex Jones a platform, their followers will double-down or increase their attack on grieving families,” Marquez-greene said. “You can’t just put him in a box and say he’s just a character. He’s really hurting people.”
The interview by Kelly, who formerly worked at Fox News, is scheduled to air Sunday, which is also Father’s Day. On Twitter, Kelly responded to criticism by noting that President Donald Trump, a Republican, has praised Jones’ show and by saying it was her job to “shine a light.”
An NBC representative had no immediate comment.
The interview comes in the wake of a guilty plea last week of a Florida woman who threatened a father of one Sandy Hook victim.
Lucy Richards, who had cited the hoax theory in her threats, was sentenced to five months in prison.