Sandy Hook Defamation Judgment
Alex Jones was ordered to pay nearly $1.5 billion in damages to Sandy Hook families for spreading conspiracy theories that the 2012 school shooting was a hoax.
In October 2022, a Connecticut jury ordered conspiracy theorist Alex Jones to pay $965 million in damages to the families of Sandy Hook shooting victims. A Texas jury had previously awarded $49.3 million.
Jones had spent years claiming on his InfoWars platform that the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, which killed 20 children and 6 staff members, was a 'false flag' operation using 'crisis actors.'
Families testified about years of harassment and death threats from Jones's followers. Some families had been forced to move multiple times. One father said he received death threats and was harassed at his son's grave.
Jones filed for bankruptcy. The total damages exceeded $1.4 billion. The case was seen as a landmark moment in holding conspiracy theorists legally accountable for the real-world consequences of their claims.
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