The far-right conspiracy theorist and presenter, known for emotional outbursts on his shows, appeared frustrated at several points and said he would make no further apologies for spreading the false claim that The shooting in Newtown, Conn., was a hoax. “Is it a race session? Are we in China?’ Jones asked, referring to Maoist rallies where people were publicly humiliated, after plaintiffs’ attorney Chris Mattei pointed to victims’ family members in the courtroom. “I’ve already said I’m sorry hundreds of times and I’m done saying sorry.” The fatal shooting of 26 people, including 20 children, made headlines for years on Infowars and other fringe websites that spread the baseless claim that the victims’ family members were “crisis agents” involved in a government “false flag operation” which was designed to limit Second Amendment Rights. Jones later acknowledged that the massacre was “100 percent real” and that it was irresponsible to say otherwise. Jones was ordered in August in a separate trial in Texas to pay more than $45 million in restitution to the parents of a Sandy Hook victim. He lost the Connecticut trial after Judge Barbara Bellis ruled in November that he was bound by default after he refused to turn over court-ordered financial records and other documents. Infowars and its parent company, Free Speech Systems LLC, filed for bankruptcy protection this year as the Sandy Hook families pursued civil litigation. Although Jones was level-headed for much of his testimony, he sometimes they fought verbally with Matei. His own lawyer also tried to prevent him from giving detailed answers when he became agitated. Bellis repeatedly asked jurors to leave the courtroom so the range of Jones’ answers could be discussed with attorneys. The frequency of their departures led her to joke that they were getting their exercise for the day. In the hour-long session, Jones used one of Mattei’s questions to link to the address of a website that accepts cryptocurrency contributions. He also said no to the question of whether his credibility was the most important thing to his audience, insisting he was focused on “crushing the globalists”. “Alex Jones is probably the most unlikeable litigant I’ve seen in a very long time,” said Jessica Levinson, a law professor at Loyola Marymount University. “It’s about punishing, deterring and completing people,” he said. A representative for Infowars could not immediately be reached early Friday. How the Right Made Alex Jones — Even After His Sandy Hook Comments In one exchange, Mattei accused Jones of putting targets on the backs of Sandy Hook parents, in an apparent reference to his claim that they were crisis actors. The lawyer addressed the parents in the courtroom, calling them “real people,” to which Jones replied, “Like all Iraqis, you liberals killed and loved.” “You are unbelievable. You turn emotions on, on and off, when you want. You’re just chasing an ambulance,” Jones added. The size and scope of damages awarded by the jury will be closely watched at a time of heightened concern about online misinformation and disinformation. “It matters what those verdicts are because it tells us how much we think people are being harmed by this kind of speech,” Levinson said. “It tells us that this can be an effective way to try to shut down the Alex Joneses of the world.” Details of the case — such as whether the jury is convinced Jones’ misrepresentations were deliberate lies — will help determine the type and amount of damages, said Eugene Volok, a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. “If you’re going to try to get a jury to award punitive damages, you have to show that it’s more than an honest mistake,” said Volokh, an expert on free speech law. A lawyer for Jones had argued that damages should be limited and that relatives of the victims had exaggerated the damage caused by his client’s false claims, the Associated Press reported. Several relatives of Sandy Hook victims took the stand this week to share stories of being forced to travel under false names for security reasons and being told they would go to hell by those who falsely claimed the shooting was a hoax. Jennifer Hensel, whose daughter Avielle was killed in the shooting and whose husband committed suicide in 2019, testified that some conspiracy theorists said they believed she helped fake the tragedy and that her child was still alive. “God, if it was, wouldn’t it be amazing?” she said, her voice cracking. The trial is set to continue Friday, and Jones is scheduled to continue testifying.
