Publisher's Synopsis
The jury determines Alex Jones caused $4 million in damages to two Sandy Hook parents. Jones said Wednesday that he now recognizes it was foolish of him to call the Sandy Hook Elementary School murder a fabrication. The award from the jury was far less than what the plaintiffs, Scarlett Lewis and Neil Heslin, had asked for. Alex Jones will have to pay $5.6 million in damages to Neil Lewis and Scarlett Heslin, a New York jury finds. Jones baselessly said the Sandy Hook shooting was staged; he later acknowledged it was real.
Jones' time on the American stage is "coming to an end," his lawyer says. Jones has already paid $1.5 million in fines and other defamation lawsuits are pending. Lawyers for the Sandy Hook family argued that Alex Jones' lies stained the legacy of their son Jesse and tormented them for years. "Speech is free, but falsehoods you have to pay for," they told the jury in closing arguments. Jennifer Lewis spoke directly to Jones, saying she wanted to address him to his face. She feels monetary damages are appropriate because she doesn't believe Jones would otherwise ever stop his behavior. Lewis: "It seems so incredible to me that we have to exhort you - not only implore you but also punish you" Alex Jones for allegedly draining his company, Free Speech Systems, of assets. A group of Sandy Hook families won a default judgment against Jones and a trial was scheduled to begin in September. Jury selection was suspended the same day it started earlier this week and the trial could be delayed because of a bankruptcy filing from the company.
