The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Judge in InfoWars case gets threats
BRIDGEPORT — State police are investigating threats made to the judge hearing the lawsuit against InfoWars host Alex Jones.
Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis was contacted Friday by the state police who received information from the FBI that an individual had made threats against the judge on the InfoWars website, according to a notice filed by the judge.
“The court has no further information in that regard and plans to take no further action, however, the court believes it is required to disclose the matter to all parties,” the notice states.
Court staff confirmed they had been notified of the threat but had no other information.
Bellis was not in Bridgeport on Friday. She declined comment on the threat.
Bellis is hearing the lawsuit brought by eight families of the 2012 Sandy Hook tragedy against Jones for claiming the mass shooting was a hoax.
Joshua Koskoff, who law firm represents the Sandy Hook families, confirmed he was aware of the threat but declined further comment.
“We were informed this afternoon that law enforcement contacted Judge Bellis about alleged threats on an InfoWars server,” Jones’ lawyer, Norman Pattis, said in a statement Friday afternoon. “The fact that no law enforcement agent has contacted us for further information suggests the threats are not serious. Even so we are now searching InfoWars’ website to see what the fuss is about.”
On Tuesday, following a hearing, Bellis ordered Jones, who was not in the courtroom, to pay legal fees of the eight Sandy Hook families for accusing their lawyer of trying to frame him with child porn.
The Koskoff firm stated in court documents filed Monday they have contacted the FBI after discovering child porn in electronic files Jones recently turned over to the Sandy Hook families as a result of their lawsuit against him.
Koskoff lawyer William Bloss, during a hearing before Bellis on Tuesday, told the judge that after they discovered the child porn they immediately notified the FBI, the U.S. Attorney and Pattis. He said they did not go public with their discovery.
Bloss said the FBI determined that Jones had been sent the child pornography in emails and inadvertently included it in the material he forwarded to them.
However, on June 14, Jones, in a video broadcast on his website and with Pattis sitting next to him, accused the Koskoff firm and its lawyer, Chris Mattei, of trying to frame him with child porn.
“I’ll (expletive) get you in the end ... You’re trying to set me up with child porn ... one million dollars to put your head on a pike,” Jones stated during a 20-minute rant in which he pounded on a photograph of Mattei.
“What is not appropriate, what is indefensible, unconscionable, despicable and possibly criminal behavior is to accuse opposing counsel, through a broadcast, no less, of planting child pornography which is a serious felony,” Bellis stated in her decision to levy sanctions. “I reject the ... defendant’s claim that Alex Jones was enraged.”