A Texas jury ordered Infowars’ Alex Jones to pay $49.3 million in damages to the parents of a first-grader killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in what the conspiracy theorist falsely characterized as a sham orchestrated by the government to perpetrate. Strengthen America’s gun laws.
The sum is less than the $150 million sought by Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, whose 6-year-old son Jesse Lewis was among 19 children and six teachers killed in the deadliest mass shooting in US history.
The trial marks the first time Jones has been held financially responsible for publishing lies about a 2012 attack in Newtown, Connecticut.
Judges initially awarded Heslin and Lewis $4.1 million in damages in what Jones called a big win. But in the final phase of the two-week trial, the same Austin jury came back and awarded another $45.2 million.
Punitive damages are intended to punish defendants for particularly egregious conduct in addition to monetary compensation for damages suffered. The high punitive award is also seen as sending a broader public message to jurors and a way to prevent others from engaging in the same egregious behavior in the future.
Lawyers for the family asked jurors to impose financial penalties that would bankrupt Infowars.
“You have the opportunity to stop this man from doing this again,” the parents’ attorney Wesley Ball told the jury.
It’s unclear how much money Jones and Infowars’ parent company Free Speech Systems have.
An economist hired by the plaintiffs testified that Jones and the company were worth as much as $270 million, suggesting that Jones was still making money.
But Jones confirmed that a prize pool of more than $2 million would “sink us.” And Free Speech Systems filed for bankruptcy within the first week of the trial.
Jones still faces two other defamation suits from the Sandy Hook families in Texas and Connecticut.
Source: Hollywood Reporter
Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.
