Far-Right Conspiracy Grifter Alex Jones Hit With Nearly $1 Billion in Damages for Sandy Hook Lies

A Connecticut jury on Wednesday ordered far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones to pay nearly $1 billion to people including relatives of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, who endured relentless threats and harassment as the Infowars owner repeatedly claimed the shooting was a hoax by “crisis actors.”

The jury ordered the Jones and Infowars parent company, Free Speech Systems, to pay $965 million to family members of eight Sandy Hook victims and an FBI agent who responded to the scene of the December 14, 2012, Newtown, Connecticut mass shooting in which 26 people—including 20 elementary school students—lost their lives.

“There will be more Alex Jones in this world, but what they learned here today is that they absolutely will be held accountable,” said Erica Lafferty, mother of slain Sandy Hook principal Dawn Lafferty Hochsprung, after she was awarded $76 million.

Christopher Mattei, an attorney for the plaintiffs, told reporters outside the courthouse that “the jury’s verdict is a testament to that courage, in a resounding affirmation that people of goodwill, dedicated to the truth, mindful of their responsibilities to their fellow citizens can come together to protect the innocent, to reveal lies masquerading as truth, and to set right a historic wrong.”

“You may say that is astronomical. It is,” Mattei said of the judgment. “It’s exactly what Alex Jones set himself up to do. That’s what he built. He built a lie machine that could push this stuff out. You reap what you sow.”

Spurred by Jones’ lies, his supporters subjected the plaintiffs to menacing threats and merciless harassment, including accusing parents of faking their own children’s deaths. Some of the plaintiffs described feeling unsafe in their hometown; some of the families even left Newtown.

A Texas jury in August awarded nearly $50 million to the parents of another Sandy Hook victim. Due to state limits, the actual payout will be far less.

Jones was not in the Connecticut courtroom during the reading of Wednesday’s verdict. Instead, he live-streamed the court proceeding on an Infowars broadcast and laughed as the jury read the damages against him.

“Remember, even if Alex Jones does not have $965 million in cash, the Sandy Hook families can now use this judgment to go after his property, assets, and to garnish his wages,” tweeted attorney Aaron Parnas. “He may never pay the full amount, but this judgment is going to cripple him.”

Originally published at Commondreams.org.