Alex Jones trial - live: Jury begins deliberating in Infowars host’s second Sandy Hook hoax case
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The jury has finished its first full day of deliberation in Alex Jones’ second defamation damages trial over his lies about the Sandy Hook massacre.
Jurors convened to weigh the case on Friday after closing arguments the day before, where attorneys for the families of the Sandy Hook victims urged them to consider the enormous profits Jones had made from spreading conspiracy theories about the mass shooting when determining how much he should pay in damages.
“Every single one of these families were drowning in grief, and Alex Jones put his foot right on top of them,” attorney Christopher Mattei said.
Visitor numbers to Jones’ Infowars website spiked by more than 40 per cent after the December 2012 tragedy, Mr Mattei said.
He suggested a damages award of at least $550m, as Jones and Infowars had received an estimated 550 million views from their Sandy Hook hoax content on social media accounts from 2012 to 2018.
Meanwhile, Jones’ attorney Norm Pattis asked jurors to return a more measured verdict to help restore his client’s faith in “the system”.
Jones’ lawyer says he is a ‘mad prophet’ like Atwood or Orwell
Alex Jones’ attorney Norm Pattis compared Alex Jones to literary greats Margaret Atwood and George Orwell during a bizarre closing argument.
He claimed that Mr Jones was a “mad prophet” who was trying to warn of a dystopian future.
Full story below.
Alex Jones’ lawyer compares him to The Handmaid’s Tale author Margaret Atwood
“There have always been creative geniuses in the world,” Jones’ attorney Norm Pattis says
Why Alex Jones is facing trial again over his Sandy Hook ‘hoax’ lies
Alex Jones is facing his second defamation two months after a judge ordered he pay nearly $50m for damages caused by his insistence that the Sandy Hook shooting was a hoax.
A judge ordered him to pay $49.3m to the parents of six-year-old Jesse Lewis, who was one of the 26 students killed in the 2012 shooting. Jones’ lawyer said he plans to appeal the ruling.
The Independent’s Graig Graziosi has a full recap on how we got to this point.
Why Alex Jones is facing trial again over his Sandy Hook ‘hoax’ lies
Jones is currently in the middle of his second defamation trial - this time in Connecticut
How can you put a price on suffering?
The jury will begin deliberations on Thursday to determine how much Alex Jones must pay to the Sandy Hook families for spreading wild and defamatory conspiracy theories about the tragic 2012 shooting.
Here, the Associated Press explores their unenviable task.
Jurors must decide how much Newtown families suffering worth
A Connecticut jury soon will have the difficult task of coming up with a dollar amount conspiracy theorist Alex Jones should pay for promoting the idea that the Sandy Hook school shooting was a hoax
ICYMI: Families testify of confrontations with Sandy Hook deniers
Families of Sandy Hook victims testified of being harassed by Alex Jones supporters during his second defamation trial in Connecticut.
“I got sent pictures of dead kids, because I was told that as a crisis actor, I didn’t really know what a dead kid looked like, so this is what it should look like,” said Nicole Hockley, who lost her 6-year-old son Dylan in the mass shooting.
Families testify of confrontations with Sandy Hook deniers at Alex Jones trial
A mother who lost one of her sons in the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre testified Tuesday that her biggest fear is that people who believe the shooting was a hoax will harm her other son, who survived the attack at his school.
Jones’ lawyer says he is a ‘mad prophet’ like Atwood or Orwell
Alex Jones’ attorney Norm Pattis compared Alex Jones to literary greats Margaret Atwood and George Orwell during a bizarre closing argument.
He claimed that Mr Jones was a “mad prophet” who was trying to warn of a dystopian future.
Full story below.
Alex Jones’ lawyer compares him to The Handmaid’s Tale author Margaret Atwood
“There have always been creative geniuses in the world,” Jones’ attorney Norm Pattis says
ICYMI: ‘I’m done apologising’
Testifying early in the defamation trial, Alex Jones ranted that he was “done apologising” for spreading conspiracy theories about the Sandy Hook mass shooting.
“I’ve already said I’m sorry hundreds of times. And I’m done saying sorry,” he shouted across the courtroom.
Read the full report.
Alex Jones shouts ‘I’m done apologising’ at Sandy Hook parents crying in court
Far-right conspiracy theorist – who has spent much of the trial mocking the proceedings on his Infowars show – moaned that ‘people think that I killed the kids’
WATCH: Sandy Hook and 9/11 were ‘best two days’ of Alex Jones’s life, victims’ lawyer says
Sandy Hook and 9/11 were “the best two days” of Alex Jones’s life, a lawyer for the victims of the school massacre has claimed.
In closing arguments on day 14 of Jones’s defamation trial, attorney Josh Koskoff told the jury that the Infowars host chased profits while encouraging his followers to harass grieving families.
Watch below.
Sandy Hook and 9/11 were ‘best two days’ of Alex Jones’s life, victims’ lawyer claims
Sandy Hook and 9/11 were “the best two days” of Alex Jones’s life, a lawyer for the victims of the school massacre has claimed. In closing arguments on day 14 of Jones’s defamation trial, attorney Josh Koskoff told the jury that the Infowars host chased profits while encouraging his followers to harass grieving families. He added that Jones “thrives on keeping people divided” and referenced two days when Americans were united: the September 11 terror attacks and the Sandy Hook mass shooting. “For Alex Jones, those were the best two days of this life,” Koskoff said. Sign up to our newsletters.
WATCH: Judge tells off Alex Jones’s lawyer for ‘personal attacks’
Alex Jones’s lawyer was told off by the judge in his defamation trial for insinuating the Sandy Hook victims’ are in it for the money.
“It doesn’t mean a thing here for the plaintiff’s lawyers if it doesn’t go ka-ching,” Norm Pattis said during his bizarre closing statement on Thursday.
Watch the video below.
Judge tells off Alex Jones’s lawyer for ‘personal attacks’ in closing statements
Alex Jones’s lawyer was told off by the judge in his defamation trial for insinuating the Sandy Hook victims’ are in it for the money. “It doesn’t mean a thing here for the plaintiff’s lawyers if it doesn’t go ka-ching,” Norm Pattis said during his bizarre closing statement on Thursday, 6 October. Judge Bellis put a pause to the court proceedings to tell Mr Pattis to “refrain” from any further “personal attacks” against the other attorneys. “It’s highly improper. Let’s move on. You can talk about the plaintiffs and the plaintiff’s case. I don’t want to hear it again.” Sign up for our newsletters.
Jones’ lawyer says he is a ‘mad prophet’ like Atwood or Orwell
Alex Jones’ attorney Norm Pattis compared Alex Jones to literary greats Margaret Atwood and George Orwell during a bizarre closing argument.
He claimed that Mr Jones was a “mad prophet” who was trying to warn of a dystopian future.
Full story below.
Alex Jones’ lawyer compares him to The Handmaid’s Tale author Margaret Atwood
“There have always been creative geniuses in the world,” Jones’ attorney Norm Pattis says
WATCH: Sandy Hook and 9/11 were ‘best two days’ of Alex Jones’s life, victims’ lawyer says
Sandy Hook and 9/11 were “the best two days” of Alex Jones’s life, a lawyer for the victims of the school massacre has claimed.
In closing arguments on day 14 of Jones’s defamation trial, attorney Josh Koskoff told the jury that the Infowars host chased profits while encouraging his followers to harass grieving families.
Watch below.
Sandy Hook and 9/11 were ‘best two days’ of Alex Jones’s life, victims’ lawyer claims
Sandy Hook and 9/11 were “the best two days” of Alex Jones’s life, a lawyer for the victims of the school massacre has claimed. In closing arguments on day 14 of Jones’s defamation trial, attorney Josh Koskoff told the jury that the Infowars host chased profits while encouraging his followers to harass grieving families. He added that Jones “thrives on keeping people divided” and referenced two days when Americans were united: the September 11 terror attacks and the Sandy Hook mass shooting. “For Alex Jones, those were the best two days of this life,” Koskoff said. Sign up to our newsletters.
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