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Far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, whose site Infowars is known for spreading false stories, has been found liable for damages in two Sandy Hook-related lawsuits.
Judge Maya Guerra Gamble issued a ruling for default judgments against Jones in the two cases on Monday, as first reported by the Huffington Post, with those rulings being made public on Thursday. Moving forward, a jury is set to be convened to decide how much Jones and Infowars will ultimately owe to the plaintiffs in the suits.
Jones is said to have repeatedly failed to produce documents related to the lawsuits, which were brought against him by parents of two children who were killed in the tragic 2012 school shooting. On multiple occasions since the shooting that claimed 26 lives, Jones said the massacre was a “hoax” involving so-called “crisis actors.” Years later, Jones claimed a “form of psychosis” inspired him to believe in the hoax narrative.
Mark Bankston, an attorney representing the parents, shared a statement with CNN on Friday in which he said the judge’s rulings provided these families with much-needed “closure.” Jones, he added, was given “ample opportunity” to treat these lawsuits with the seriousness they demanded, yet opted not to do so. “And now he will face the consequences for that decision,” Bankston said.
Complex has reached out to Bankston for additional comment and will update this post accordingly.
This is far from the only lawsuit spurred by Jones’ spreading of the Sandy Hook conspiracy theory. As reporter Sebastian Murdock pointed out on Thursday, Jones is still facing legal action from several additional families.
In the pandemic era, Jones has taken his “hoax” messaging and applied it to COVID-19 itself. In August of last year, for example, he was seen in viral footage screaming at Texas park workers for wearing masks. At one point during the incident, he asked masked employees if they were using “your COVID hoax” to “take over the parks and start charging.”
