Alex Jones begins testimony in Sandy Hook defamation trial
2022.09.22 13:52
© Reuters. Alex Jones arrives at the court house as he faces a second defamation trial over Sandy Hook claims in Waterbury, Connecticut, U.S., September 22, 2022. REUTERS/Michelle McLoughlin
By Jack Queen
(Reuters) – U.S. conspiracy theorist Alex Jones took the stand on Thursday in a trial to decide how much he must pay families of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook mass shooting for falsely claiming the massacre was a hoax.
The trial concerns only damages because Jones and the parent company of his Infowars site have already been found liable for spreading false claims that the killing of 20 children and six staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, was staged by the U.S. government as a pretext for seizing guns.
Jones’ testimony under questioning from an attorney for the plaintiffs was interrupted by repeated objections from his lawyer as the parties sparred over limitations a judge has placed on what Jones can say.
Judge Barbara Bellis has sharply constrained testimony related to politics and has barred Jones from disputing his liability in the case, among other things.
The trial in Waterbury, Connecticut, is taking place a month after the U.S. conspiracy theorist was hit with a $49.3 million verdict in a similar case in Texas, where parent company Free Speech Systems is based.
Jones’ lawyers hope to void most of the payout, calling it excessive under Texas law.
A Free Speech Systems corporate representative testified in Connecticut last week that views of Infowars articles soared by nearly half to 427 million in 2013 from 286 million, and that other metrics skyrocketed between 2014 and 2016, when Jones was hosting Sandy Hook deniers on his shows.
Jones has since acknowledged that the shooting occurred, but the plaintiffs say he should pay for the pain and suffering he caused them.
In the first day of trial, plaintiff Carlee Soto Parisi, whose sister was among those killed, fought back tears as she recounted the massacre and the “crippling” harassment she suffered as baseless conspiracies spread online.
Free Speech Systems filed for bankruptcy in July. That would typically shield the company from lawsuits, but it agreed to face trial in August.
