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”.
ICYMI: Alex Jones is getting hit where it hurts: his wallet
Writing for Independent Voices, Hannah Selinger wrote that a Texas jury’s $50m damages award against Alex Jones may finally make a difference.
“If we have come to accept weaponized language in political discourse, perhaps we can view these consequences as a correction of course. No, you actually cannot say anything you want. Yes, truth is important. Yes, we will continue to demand decency in America.”
Alex Jones is getting where it hurts: his wallet. That might finally change things
We have been appealing to the common decency of far-right provocateurs for a long time. But now Jones has lost his final court battle and a big chunk of his money, those people might actually start listening
ICYMI: Alex Jones ‘packed up his entourage’ and fled Connecticut on private jet
Alex Jones fled Connecticut by private jet as he was due to testify on Wednesday morning.
The Infowars host “packed up his entourage” and returned to Texas ahead of the resumption of his trial on Wednesday, according to New York Times reporter Elizabeth Williamson.
The Infowars founder had been due to testify for a second time on Wednesday. The jury is due to return on Thursday to hear closing arguments and begin deliberations.
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.
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’
ICYMI: Sandy Hook father says he felt like he ‘failed’ his slain daughter
Last week, Robbie Parker took to the witness stand to testify that he believed he was “failing” six-year-old Emilie’s memory as Alex Jones lies continued to spread lies about her.
Read more about Mr Parker’s heartbreaking testimony in Rachel Sharp’s report.
Sandy Hook father says Alex Jones lies made him feel like he ‘failed’ his daughter
Robbie Parker testified that seeing the far-right extremist continue to spread lies about the families of Parkland was a ‘big catalyst’ to him to ‘fight’
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.
ICYMI: Alex Jones will ‘never stop’ unless he’s held responsible
In opening arguments, lawyers for the Sandy Hook families described Alex Jones as a bully who would never stop spreading harmful lies until he’s held responsible.
“Unless you stand up to bullies, a bully will never stop,” attorney Chris Mattei said.
Read the full report here.
Sandy Hook families blast ‘bully’ Alex Jones as damages trial begins
‘Unless you stand up to bullies, a bully will never stop,’ lawyer says
ICYMI: Alex Jones ‘packed up his entourage’ and fled Connecticut on private jet
Alex Jones fled Connecticut by private jet as he was due to testify on Wednesday morning.
The Infowars host “packed up his entourage” and returned to Texas ahead of the resumption of his trial on Wednesday, according to New York Times reporter Elizabeth Williamson.
The Infowars founder had been due to testify for a second time on Wednesday. The jury is due to return on Thursday to hear closing arguments and begin deliberations.
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’
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