Hooray, Alex Jones has lost another lawsuit

His repulsive Sandy Hook conspiracy theories will once again cost him thousands.

US far-right radio show Alex Jones speaks to supporters of US President Donald Trump as they demonst...
OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP/Getty Images
Impact
Updated: 
Originally Published: 

Alex Jones spent years claiming that the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, was nothing more than a false flag operation carried out by the government. A court decision handed down Monday marks the most significant victory to date in the effort to hold Jones accountable for those spewing harmful, nonsensical conspiracy theories. A superior court in Connecticut found Jones liable by default in a defamation lawsuit brought by the families of victims of the Sandy Hook massacre.

The ruling in Connecticut came as a result of Jones refusing to hand over documents sought by the court. Despite multiple requests to produce financial data, analytics, and other information as part of the discovery part of the legal proceeding, Jones’s team was found to be in “willful noncompliance” by Connecticut Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis. The result: Jones and InfoWars are now considered to be liable for damages done to the families, whom he consistently claimed were involved in a mass conspiracy.

With the Connecticut ruling, Jones has now lost four separate defamation cases brought against him by the victims of the Sandy Hook shooting. Three previous decisions were handed down by judges in Texas, where a similar pattern occurred: The court requested Jones and InfoWars turn over certain documents during the discovery phase of the trial, they refused to comply, and thus they were ultimately found liable by default. All four of the cases will now move forward to a trial, where juries will be tasked with determining the amount of damages that Jones and his company owe to the families. These trials are scheduled to take place next year.

It seems that whatever the cost may ultimately be, it is less costly to Jones than revealing the inner workings of his company. He will be on the hook for at least $150,000 in fines levied against him for non-compliance during the Texas trials, as well as the lawyer fees for the Sandy Hook families. He’ll also be on the hook for the emotional damage his conspiracy-laden broadcasts have done to the families, who have been inundated with hate mail, death threats, and other forms of harassment ever since Jones started rambling lies about the Sandy Hook shooting.

Jones has even given up on the conspiracy itself. He began claiming that the 2012 shooting was a “false flag” event, essentially an event staged by the U.S. government that Jones and others claimed was done to sow fear and push for tighter gun regulations. In 2014, he returned to the well and upped the ante, claiming no one died in the shooting and that the victims were child actors. By 2019, as the lawsuits were piling up, Jones abandoned the theory, blaming his multi-year lie on a form of psychosis.

Whatever Jones is protecting, it appears he’ll continue to hang onto InfoWars’s secrets. And while it should be satisfying to see him finally face repercussions for spreading false and upsetting misinformation at the expense of victims of a tragedy, he’s already monetizing the moment: Jones spent all of Monday on air claiming the “deep state-controlled court” denied him a fair trial. It seems the grift just never stops.