<a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/infowars" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Infowars</a> founder <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/alex-jones" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Alex Jones</a> filed for personal bankruptcy Friday, citing the almost $1.5 billion in payments he was ordered to pay the families of children killed in the shooting at <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/sandy-hook" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sandy Hook</a> Elementary School.
The conspiracy theorist filed the Chapter 11 documents with the Southern District of Texas months after Free Speech Systems, the parent company of Infowars, also folded over the summer, according to a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/02/us/politics/alex-jones-bankruptcy.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from The New York Times. Jones had <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/alex-jones-gets-assets-frozen-now-has-to-pay-almost-1-5-billion-to-sandy-hook-families" target="_blank" rel="noopener">asserted</a> for years that the 2012 attack, in which the shooter murdered 26 people, including 20 children, was a false flag operation meant to help the government confiscate citizens’ firearms. He was ordered last month to fork over $473 million on top of the $965 million he had already been ordered to pay.
Jones owns between $1 million and $10 million in assets, but owes between $1 billion and $10 billion in liabilities, according to a <a href="https://www.axios.com/2022/12/02/alex-jones-bankrupt-infowars-chapter-11-bankruptcy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from Axios. The commentator owes money to between 50 and 99 parties.
News of the bankruptcy broke one day after Jones <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/kanye-ye-west-i-like-hitler-i-see-good-things-about-hitler-stop-dissing-the-nazis-he-didnt-kill-6-million" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hosted</a> rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes on his show. During the program, Ye praised Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler in his latest tirade against Jewish people, leading Twitter CEO Elon Musk to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/elon-musk-suspends-kanye-ye-west-from-twitter-issues-1-word-statement-after-his-decision" target="_blank" rel="noopener">suspend</a> the former husband of Kim Kardashian from the platform.
The bankruptcy further decreases the likelihood that Jones will be able to make the payments to the Sandy Hook families, who he accused of working as crisis actors for the federal government. Christopher Mattei, a lawyer representing the Sandy Hook families, had celebrated the most recent decision mandating that Jones reimburse the parents in an <a href="https://twitter.com/ChrisMatteiCT/status/1590778197834010624" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announcement</a> posted to social media. “Justice requires that he pay every penny,” he said.
Connecticut Judge Barbara Bellis said in a ruling that Jones’ actions were “cruel” and “persistent” over an extended period of time, establishing “the highest degree of reprehensibility and blameworthiness.” A separate order prohibited Jones from moving assets out of the country.
“The record clearly supports the plaintiffs’ argument that the defendants’ conduct was intentional and malicious, and certain to cause harm by virtue of their infrastructure, ability to spread content, and massive audience including the ‘infowarriors,’” Bellis wrote. “The record also establishes that the defendants repeated the conduct and attacks on the plaintiffs for nearly a decade, including during the trial, wanton, malicious, and heinous conduct that caused harm to the plaintiffs.”
Prosecutors asked Bellis two months ago to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sandy-hook-families-demand-new-unimaginable-sum-of-money-from-alex-jones" target="_blank" rel="noopener">increase</a> the $965 million ruling to $2.75 trillion, since Jones allegedly broke a Connecticut law banning the sale of goods through false statements. The figure was calculated by multiplying the $5,000 maximum penalty under state law by 550 million social media views Jones garnered in the three years after the shooting.
A separate jury in Texas ordered Jones to pay $4.1 million in compensatory damages and $45.2 million in punitive damages, a figure that may be reduced as a result of state laws capping the size of the penalty. Families of the Sandy Hook victims began taking legal action against Jones, as well as Free Speech Systems, the parent company of Infowars, four years ago.

Trump Supporters Hold “Stop The Steal” Rally In DC Amid Ratification Of Presidential Election

Alex Jones Files For Bankruptcy

Alex Jones

Infowars

Media

Politics

Sandy Hook

Rapper Kanye &#8220;Ye&#8221; West praised Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler during a live interview Thursday with Alex Jones on Infowars.
West&#8217;s comments about Hitler follow a series of anti-Semitic remarks that he has made in recent weeks, upending many of his business pursuits.
A small sample of some of the anti-Semitic remarks that West has made include him <a href="https://forward.com/culture/523287/every-antisemitic-thing-kanye-has-said-so-far/">saying</a> that he wanted to go “death con 3” on “JEWISH PEOPLE”; saying his children could learn “financial engineering” in a Jewish school; blaming “Jewish Zionists” for his problems, blaming his marriage ending with Kim Kardashian on the “Zionist media handlers surrounding her,” blaming his mental health diagnosis on a Jewish doctor, and showing a list of the Jews that he believes control the media.
During the interview on Infowars, West was dressed in all black, wearing a heavy black coat, a black balaclava that covered his entire head and face, and black gloves.
Jones tried to defend West at one point, saying that West was not a Nazi and that he did not deserve to be &#8220;called that and demonized.&#8221;
West pushed back on that statement, saying: &#8220;Well, I see good things about Hitler, also. I love everyone. And Jewish people are not going to tell me &#8216;you can love us and you can love what we&#8217;re doing to you with the contracts, and you can love what we&#8217;re pushing with the pornography, but this guy [Hitler] that invented highways and invented the very microphone that I use as a musician &#8211; you cannot say out loud that this person ever did anything good.&#8217; And I&#8217;m done with that. I&#8217;m done with the classifications. Every human being has something of value that they bring to the table, especially Hitler.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Alex Jones: &quot;You&#39;re not Hitler. You&#39;re not a Nazi.&quot;
Ye: &quot;Well, I see good things about Hitler, also. Every human being has value that they brought to the table, especially Hitler.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/xZtjq18dm6">pic.twitter.com/xZtjq18dm6</a>
&mdash; Greg Price (@greg_price11) <a href="https://twitter.com/greg_price11/status/1598369548662722560?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 1, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Jones pushed back on those statements, calling the Nazis &#8220;thugs&#8221; who did &#8220;a lot of really bad things.&#8221;
West responded, &#8220;But they did good things too. We gotta stop dissing the Nazis all the time.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Ye: “We gotta stop dissing the Nazis all the time” <a href="https://t.co/BUEvT1buMH">pic.twitter.com/BUEvT1buMH</a>
&mdash; Greg Price (@greg_price11) <a href="https://twitter.com/greg_price11/status/1598372387812155392?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 1, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
West also said Hitler &#8220;had a really cool outfit&#8221; and falsely claimed &#8220;he didn&#8217;t kill 6 million Jews.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Kanye &quot;Ye&quot; West on Hitler: &quot;He had a really cool outfit and he was a really good architect &#8230; and he didn&#39;t kill 6 million Jews.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/BP2xrAQURG">pic.twitter.com/BP2xrAQURG</a>
&mdash; Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) <a href="https://twitter.com/RealSaavedra/status/1598412635741257728?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 1, 2022</a></blockquote>
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During another point of the interview, Jones said, &#8220;I don&#8217;t like Nazis.&#8221;
West responded, &#8220;I like Hitler.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Kanye West says he “likes Hitler” <a href="https://t.co/ECnFxYnYdO">pic.twitter.com/ECnFxYnYdO</a>
&mdash; Van Lathan Jr (@VanLathan) <a href="https://twitter.com/VanLathan/status/1598369550831128583?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 1, 2022</a></blockquote>
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“I like Hitler,&#8221; West said. &#8220;I’m not trying to be shocking, I like Hitler. The Holocaust is not what happened, let’s look at the facts of that and Hitler has a lot of redeeming qualities.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Kanye &#39;Ye&#39; West: “I like Hitler. &#8230; I’m not trying to be shocking, I like Hitler. The Holocaust is not what happened, let’s look at the facts of that and Hitler has a lot of redeeming qualities.” <a href="https://t.co/UwCu2ZJfid">pic.twitter.com/UwCu2ZJfid</a>
&mdash; Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) <a href="https://twitter.com/RealSaavedra/status/1598416479112032256?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 1, 2022</a></blockquote>
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During the interview, West also read off anti-Semitic &#8220;jokes&#8221; from his phone about Ben Shapiro, The Daily Wire&#8217;s founding editor-in-chief and editor emeritus and host of “The Ben Shapiro Show.”
This article has been updated with additional remarks from Kanye West. 
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-kanye-ye-west-storms-out-of-tim-pool-interview-after-being-pressed-about-his-anti-semitic-views">WATCH: Kanye ‘Ye’ West Storms Out Of Tim Pool Interview After Being Pressed About His Anti-Semitic Views</a>

Celebrity Sightings In New York City – May 22, 2022

Kanye ‘Ye’ West: ‘I Like Hitler,’ ‘I See Good Things About Hitler,’ ‘Stop Dissing The Nazis,’ ‘He Didn’t Kill 6 Million Jews’

Kanye West

<a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/infowars" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Infowars</a> founder Alex Jones was ordered to pay another $473 million to the families of children killed in the shooting at <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/sandy-hook" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sandy Hook</a> Elementary School, adding to the $965 million he has already been told to pay.
Jones had asserted for years that the 2012 attack, in which the shooter murdered 26 people, including 20 children, was a hoax meant to help the federal government confiscate citizens’ firearms. The conspiracy theorist must pay a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-alex-jones-ordered-to-pay-nearly-1-billion-to-families-of-sandy-hook-victims" target="_blank" rel="noopener">combined</a> $1.44 billion to the victims’ families.
“The record clearly supports the plaintiffs’ argument that the defendants’ conduct was intentional and malicious, and certain to cause harm by virtue of their infrastructure, ability to spread content, and massive audience including the ‘infowarriors,’” Connecticut Judge Barbara Bellis wrote in her ruling. “The record also establishes that the defendants repeated the conduct and attacks on the plaintiffs for nearly a decade, including during the trial, wanton, malicious, and heinous conduct that caused harm to the plaintiffs. This depravity, and cruel, persistent course of conduct by the defendants establishes the highest degree of reprehensibility and blameworthiness.”
Christopher Mattei, a lawyer representing the Sandy Hook families, celebrated the decision in an <a href="https://twitter.com/ChrisMatteiCT/status/1590778197834010624" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announcement</a> posted to social media. Jones had claimed that the parents of the slaughtered children were crisis actors. “Justice requires that he pay every penny,” he said.
A separate one-page order prohibited Jones from relocating assets out of the country. “With the exception of ordinary living expenses, the defendant Alex Jones is not to transfer, encumber, dispose, or move his assets out of the United States, until further order of the court,” Bellis said.
The latest verdict also follows a ruling from a separate jury in Texas, which ordered Jones to pay $4.1 million in compensatory damages and $45.2 million in punitive damages, a figure that may be reduced due to state laws capping the size of the penalty. Families of the Sandy Hook victims began taking legal action against Jones, as well as Free Speech Systems, the parent company of Infowars, four years ago.
Prosecutors in the Connecticut lawsuit argued that the sanction was derived from the number of impressions Jones had garnered online for his claims. “You may say that is astronomical. It is,” Mattei told jurors. “It’s exactly what Alex Jones set himself up to do. That’s what he built. He built a lie machine that could push this stuff out. You reap what you sow.”
The families asked Bellis last month to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sandy-hook-families-demand-new-unimaginable-sum-of-money-from-alex-jones" target="_blank" rel="noopener">increase</a> the $965 million ruling to $2.75 trillion, since Jones allegedly broke a Connecticut law banning the sale of goods through false statements. The figure was calculated by multiplying the $5,000 maximum penalty under state law by 550 million social media views Jones received in the three years following the shooting.
Infowars <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sandy-hook-families-demand-alex-jones-surrender-media-company-control-accuse-him-of-funneling-assets" target="_blank" rel="noopener">filed for bankruptcy</a> earlier this year amid the legal quagmire. Another lawsuit claimed Jones had been hiding money, citing his $62 million in withdrawals from the company over the past three years. According to bankruptcy documents, nine Sandy Hook families requested for a trustee to control Free Speech Systems, which owes $54 million to PQPR Holdings, a firm with ties to Jones and his parents.

Alex Jones Speaks To The Media Outside The Sandy Hook Trial In Waterbury, Connecticut

Alex Jones Gets Assets Frozen, Now Has To Pay Almost $1.5 Billion To Sandy Hook Families

Alex Jones Now Has To Pay Nearly $1.5 Billion In Sandy Hook Case

Courts

Free Speech

U.S.

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/sandy-hook" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sandy Hook</a> families are asking a Connecticut judge to order <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/alex-jones" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Alex Jones</a> to pay them trillions of dollars in damages in addition to the $965 million that jurors ordered Jones to pay the families earlier this month.
The families claimed that they are entitled to the money because they allege that Jones broke a state law that bans the sale of goods through the use of false statements.
Bloomberg News <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-10-21/sandy-hook-families-seek-2-75-trillion-from-alex-jones" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that the families arrived at $2.75 trillion by taking the maximum penalty allowed under state law, $5,000, and multiplying it by 550 million social media views that Jones got on his social media accounts in the three years following the 2012 shooting.
&#8220;Alex Jones perpetrates this attack for one reason: greed,&#8221; the families’ lawyers said in a filing on Friday. &#8220;Alex Jones will never treat them like real people, because they are too valuable to him as targets.&#8221;
For years, Jones had claimed that the shooting was staged and that the families were crisis actors in an effort by the government to confiscate Americans’ guns. The latest verdict is the second against Jones, following a ruling from a separate jury in Texas that ordered Jones to pay $4.1 million in compensatory damages and $45.2 million in punitive damages, an amount that may soon be reduced due to state laws capping the amount of damages.
The Connecticut trial lasted three weeks and included testimony from the parents of victims and school employees, along with an FBI agent who responded to the shooting, CNN <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/12/media/alex-jones-sandy-hook-damages/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. The case itself is a consolidation of three other cases, brought about by various families and the FBI agent.
Since the shooting, Jones had repeatedly claimed the incident was a hoax, which families of the victims said throughout the trial led to harassment against them and continued anguish after losing their children. In 2018, the families began taking action against Jones and Free Speech Systems, the parent company of Jones’ conspiracy theorist organization Infowars.
Prosecutors had asked the jury to award $550 million based on the number of impressions Jones’ false claims received online.
“You may say that is astronomical. It is,” Christopher Mattei, an attorney for the plaintiffs said while addressing the jurors. “It’s exactly what Alex Jones set himself up to do. That’s what he built. He built a lie machine that could push this stuff out. You reap what you sow.”
Ashe Schow contributed to this report.

Sandy Hook Families Demand New Unimaginable Sum Of Money From Alex Jones

Sandy Hook Families Demand $2.75 Trillion From Alex Jones

Court

Crime

Money

A retired <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fbi-offered-christopher-steele-1m-for-evidence-backing-up-dossier-claims-about-trump-fbi-analyst/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FBI agent</a> who was reportedly the lead investigator for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/this-is-bigger-than-watergate-everything-we-know-about-the-clinton-spying-operation-against-donald-trump/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Special Counsel John Durham</a> was awarded $90 million as part of the near-billion-dollar <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-alex-jones-ordered-to-pay-nearly-1-billion-to-families-of-sandy-hook-victims/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">verdict against Alex Jones</a> for his phony claims that the Sandy Hook massacre was a hoax.
William Aldenberg, who as an FBI agent responded to the December 14, 2012 shooting at a Connecticut elementary school and testified at the Connecticut trial to determine how much Jones must pay in damages, was one of the government witnesses in the trial. He told the jury he was hurt by Jones’ claims the shooting, in which 20 first-graders and six educators were killed, was a hoax perpetrated by “crisis actors.”
“No, no. No, sir,” an emotional Aldenberg testified when attorney Christopher Mattei, who represented families of the victims, asked if there were any actors at the school. “No. It’s awful, awful.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
🤔Second name from the bottom, Bill Aldenberg, was John Durham&#39;s lead FBI investigator&#8230;. <a href="https://t.co/3NBur5mUvk">pic.twitter.com/3NBur5mUvk</a>
&mdash; TheLastRefuge (@TheLastRefuge2) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheLastRefuge2/status/1580383573189984256?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 13, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Jones later acknowledged the mass shooting, by a 20-year-old mentally disturbed man, had occurred. The shooter killed himself and his mother on the same day of the massacre.
Aldenberg and the families of eight victims were awarded a total of $965 million Wednesday by a jury in Connecticut. The verdict was the second against InfoWars founder Jones, following a ruling from a separate jury in Texas ordered Jones to pay $4.1 million in compensatory damages and $45.2 million in punitive damages, an amount that may soon be reduced due to state laws capping the amount of damages.
The Connecticut case involved 15 plaintiffs including parents who lost children in the shooting and Aldenberg. A third case brought in Texas, where Jones’ company, Free Speech Systems, is based, has yet to be scheduled. Jones has filed for bankruptcy and says he doesn’t have the money to pay any of the awards.
Aldenberg has been identified as the lead investigator for Durham, the former U.S. Attorney for Connecticut who was appointed by former Attorney General William Barr to investigate how an actual hoax, Trump-Russia collusion, originated. Durham’s team is currently prosecuting Igor Danchenko, a key sub-source for the discredited Steele dossier, for allegedly lying to the FBI.
Few details are publicly known about the makeup of Durham&#8217;s team, but The Conservative Treehouse, an influential blog run by a conservative sleuth known as Sundance, <a href="https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2020/08/22/my-discussion-with-john-durhams-lead-investigator-william-aldenberg/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">identified Aldenberg</a> as Durham&#8217;s key man in 2020 and met with him the same year. It is unknown if Aldenberg is still on the team.
&#8220;How did you find me?&#8221; Aldenberg allegedly asked when they sat down to discuss the Trump-Russia collusion case.

Reported Durham Investigator, Ex-FBI Agent Awarded $90M In Alex Jones Verdict

John Durham

A jury in Connecticut has ordered conspiracy theorist Alex Jones to pay more than $950 million to the families of eight victims who were killed during the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
For years, Jones had claimed that the shooting was staged and that the families were crisis actors in an effort by the government to confiscate Americans’ guns. The latest verdict is the second against Jones, following a ruling from a separate jury in Texas ordered Jones to pay $4.1 million in compensatory damages and $45.2 million in punitive damages, an amount that may soon be reduced due to state laws capping the amount of damages.
The Connecticut trial lasted three weeks and included testimony from the parents of victims and school employees, along with an FBI agent who responded to the shooting, CNN <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/12/media/alex-jones-sandy-hook-damages/index.html">reported</a>. The case itself is a consolidation of three other cases, brought about by various families and the FBI agent.
Since the shooting, Jones had repeatedly claimed the incident was a hoax, which families of the victims said throughout the trial led to harassment against them and continued anguish after losing their children. In 2018, the families began taking action against Jones and Free Speech Systems, the parent company of Jones’ conspiracy theorist organization Infowars.
Prosecutors asked the jury to award $550 million based on the number of impressions Jones’ false claims received online.
“You may say that is astronomical. It is,” Christopher Mattei, an attorney for the plaintiffs said while addressing the jurors. “It’s exactly what Alex Jones set himself up to do. That’s what he built. He built a lie machine that could push this stuff out. You reap what you sow.”
When Jones began facing lawsuits for his false claims, he acknowledged that the shooting did occur, but, as CNN reported, he didn’t comply with court orders during the discovery process of the lawsuits brought against him in Texas or Connecticut, which led to the families winning default judgments against him.
In August, Jones was ordered to pay Scarlett Lewis and Neil Heslin, the parents of 6-year-old Jesse, who was killed in the mass shooting along with 19 other children and six educators, The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-jury-orders-alex-jones-to-pay-tens-of-millions-to-parents-of-sandy-hook-victim">reported</a>.
Jones still faces another lawsuit in Texas.

Alex Jones Ordered To Pay Nearly $1 Billion To Families Of Sandy Hook Victims

Connecticut

Lawsuit

Parents of children killed in the mass shooting at <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/sandy-hook" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sandy Hook Elementary School</a> in 2012 have asked a federal bankruptcy court Thursday to order Infowars host <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/alex-jones" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Alex Jones</a> to surrender control over his media company.
According to a <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/25/us/politics/alex-jones-lawsuits-bankruptcy.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> by The New York Times, Sandy Hook victims have accused Jones of funneling millions of dollars to himself and family members while claiming his pockets are empty.
“Alex Jones is not financially bankrupt; he is morally bankrupt, which is becoming more and more clear as we discover his plots to hide money and evade responsibility,” Kyle Farrar, a lawyer for the families, said, according to The New York Times. “He used lies to amass a fortune, and now he is using lies and fiction to shield his money.”
According to <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://ecf.txsb.uscourts.gov/doc1/178148499722?pdf_header=&amp;magic_num=90489165&amp;de_seq_num=363&amp;caseid=457706&amp;att_num=0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">filings</a> in the Houston bankruptcy court, nine Sandy Hook victims&#8217; families have urged a trustee to take control of Infowar&#8217;s parent company, Free Speech Systems, which owes $54 million to PQPR Holdings, which has ties to Jones and his parents.
The families&#8217; lawyers called the debt “a centerpiece of Jones&#8217;s plan to avoid compensating the Sandy Hook families.”
Holdings has “no services, has no employees and has no warehouse,” the Sandy Hook lawyers claimed, adding that “money that Free Speech Systems pays PQPR ends up in Alex Jones&#8217;s pockets.”
Jones allegedly transferred approximately $62 million from his company to several accounts linked to himself and family members when the Sandy Hook families filed the lawsuit against him in 2018.
R.J. Shannon, a lawyer for Jones, said the team would file a response “soon,” with no further comment, according to The New York Times.
Earlier this month, a Texas jury <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-jury-orders-alex-jones-to-pay-tens-of-millions-to-parents-of-sandy-hook-victim">ordered</a> Jones to pay $45.2 million in punitive damages to the parents of a 6-year-old child killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting.
The hefty charge comes on top of another $4.1 million compensatory charge that the jury <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-alex-jones-fined-4-1-million-in-sandy-hook-defamation-trial">directed</a> Jones to pay to Scarlett Lewis and Neil Heslin, the parents of 6-year-old Jesse, who was killed at Sandy Hook alongside 19 other children and six educators. The trial is the first of three over conspiratorial comments Jones allegedly made following the Sandy Hook tragedy, denying it had happened.
Jones will sit for two more trials next month, one more in Texas and another in Delaware, and face the families of more victims of the Sandy Hook massacre. The families allege that Jones defamed them in the aftermath of the tragedy.
During the trial, Jones testified that the media and his critics had never allowed him to take back his comments, despite his retractions and admissions that he was wrong.
Heslin said that “the negligence and recklessness of Alex Jones” had made his life a “living hell.”
Tim Pearce contributed to this report.

Social Media Hearing

Sandy Hook Families Demand Alex Jones Surrender Media Company Control, Accuse Him Of Funneling Assets

Mass Shooting

School Shooting

A <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/texas">Texas</a> jury ordered Infowars host <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/alex-jones">Alex Jones</a> to pay $45.2 million in punitive damages on Friday to the parents of a 6-year-old child killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting.
The hefty charge comes on top of another <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-alex-jones-fined-4-1-million-in-sandy-hook-defamation-trial">$4.1 million compensatory charge</a> that the jury directed Jones to pay to Scarlett Lewis and Neil Heslin, the parents of 6-year-old Jesse, who was killed at Sandy Hook alongside 19 other children and six educators. The trial is the first of three over conspiratorial comments Jones made following the Sandy Hook tragedy denying it had happened.
Jones will sit for two more trials next month, one more in Texas and another in Delaware, and face the families of more of the victims of the Sandy Hook massacre. The families allege that Jones defamed them in the aftermath of the tragedy.
In closing comments on Friday, Lewis and Heslin&#8217;s attorney Todd Ball told the jury: “We ask that you send a very, very simple message, and that is, stop Alex Jones. Stop the monetization of misinformation and lies. Please.”
Jones’ attorney Andino Reynal argued to the jury that a fair fine for the Infowars host would be roughly a quarter of a million dollars, according to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/05/media/alex-jones-punitive-damages-sandy-hook/index.html">CNN</a>. Reynal said Jones should be fined according to his purported earnings of $14,000 per hour for the 18 hours he made false claims about Sandy Hook in the aftermath of the shooting.
Reynal had also asked the jury for a low penalty the day before when the jury was set to decide compensatory damages. Reynal argued that Jones had made a “terrible mistake” and asked the jury to fine his client just $1.
“He made a terrible mistake,” Reynal told jurors, according to <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/alex-jones-must-pay-41-million-parents-sandy-hook-school-massacre-vict-rcna41493">NBC News</a>. “That mistake was weaponized by the same political forces that had descended upon Sandy Hook when it happened.”
During the trial, Jones testified that the media and his critics had never allowed for him to take back his comments, despite his retractions and admissions that he was wrong.
Both parents <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/parents-6-year-old-sandy-hook-victim-say-alex-jones-made-life-living-h-rcna41204">testified</a> during the trial. Heslin said that “the negligence and recklessness of Alex Jones” had made his life a “living hell.”
Lewis said, “having a 6-year-old son shot in front of his classroom is unbearable and you don’t think you’re going to survive and then to have someone on top of that perpetuate a lie that it was a hoax, that it was a false flag.”
“I don’t think you understand the fear you perpetuate, not just to the victim’s family but to our family, our friends and any survivor from that school,” Lewis added.

Jury Orders Alex Jones To Pay Tens Of Millions To Parents Of Sandy Hook Victim

Jury Orders Alex Jones To Pay $45.2 Million To Parents Of Sandy Hook Victim

Guns

Texas

Phone records <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/alex-jones-attorney-sent-his-private-messages-to-other-side-opposing-counsel-says">accidentally</a> given to the plaintiff by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/alex-jones">Alex Jones</a>’ legal team in an ongoing lawsuit will likely be handed over to the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/january-6-committee">January 6 Committee</a>.
The InfoWars founder was sued by the parents of Jesse Lewis, a victim of the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/sandy-hook">Sandy Hook</a> shooting, after Jones claimed the event was a hoax and the family members were “crisis actors.” <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/08/03/alex-jones-sandy-hook-phone/">At least</a> nine families have sued Jones for defamation since 2018. Jones has since <a href="https://apnews.com/article/health-us-news-shootings-texas-lawsuits-d029d6736d2ce6755c9e89e7cf9f27af">conceded</a> that the massacre was “100% real.”
On Wednesday, the plaintiff’s attorney, Mark Bankston, revealed that Jones’ counsel had accidentally sent him all of the text messages on Jones’ phone, including communiques with Roger Stone and various other figures connected to the rally and later riot at the Capitol building on January 6, 2021.
&#8220;I am under request from various federal agencies and law enforcement to provide [the records],&#8221; Bankston <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/04/politics/alex-jones-texts-federal-state-investigators-january-6/index.html">told</a> Judge Maya Guerra Gamble. &#8220;Absent a ruling from you saying you cannot do that &#8230; I intend to do so immediately following this hearing.&#8221;
Jones has been a person of interest to the January 6 Committee for some time; Jones was a prominent participant in the protest on January 6, but did not storm the Capitol. The committee issued a subpoena for Jones’ testimony and records in November 2021. Jones gave the committee an hours-long virtual deposition in January where he <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/08/04/1115674589/alex-jones-texts-jan-6-committee">invoked</a> his 5th amendment right “almost 100 times.”
Texas rules give lawyers 10 days to claim that privileged material was shared in error, which would require the opposing party to return the information. When Jones’ attorney, Andino Reynal, was notified of the slip up, he <a href="https://www.statesman.com/story/news/local/2022/08/04/alex-jones-texts-sought-jan-6-committee/65392054007/">replied</a> “please disregard” in an email, which he argues should have been sufficient to remove it from the record.
Bankston disagreed, arguing that Reynal would have been required to specify which records were privileged and provided grounds for why they should be.
Simply saying &#8220;please disregard … creates no &#8230; legal duty on me whatsoever,&#8221; Bankston <a href="https://www.statesman.com/story/news/local/2022/08/04/alex-jones-texts-sought-jan-6-committee/65392054007/">said</a>.
Reynal requested a mistrial on Thursday as a result of the accidental leak. He also filed an emergency motion for the destruction of the documents, which Judge Maya Guerra Gamble denied.
Gamble did allow Reynal to file a request that certain texts remain confidential, although she would have to approve that request and she “wasn’t sure she could block a subpoena.”
The defamation trial concluded on Thursday. Jones was ordered to pay the plaintiffs <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-alex-jones-fined-4-1-million-in-sandy-hook-defamation-trial">$4.1 million</a>.

January 6 Committee Likely To Receive Alex Jones’ Phone Records

January 6 Committee Likely To Receive Alex Jones' Phone Records

Capitol Riot

January 6

January 6 Committee

Infowars host <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/alex-jones">Alex Jones</a> must pay $4.1 million to the parents of a child killed in the mass shooting at <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/sandy-hook">Sandy Hook Elementary School</a> in 2012, a jury ruled Thursday.
Scarlett Lewis and Neil Heslin lost their 6-year-old son, Jesse, in the 2012 massacre after a gunman attacked his school, killing 20 students and six educators. In the aftermath of the attack, Jones spread false claims that the attack was a hoax.
Lewis and Heslin brought legal action against Jones over his conspiracy theorist claims, accusing Jones of defamation. Jones’ attorney, Andino Reynal, argued that Jones had made a “terrible mistake” and asked the jury to fine his client $1.
“He made a terrible mistake,” Reynal told jurors, according to <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/alex-jones-must-pay-41-million-parents-sandy-hook-school-massacre-vict-rcna41493">NBC News</a>. “That mistake was weaponized by the same political forces that had descended upon Sandy Hook when it happened.”
Both parents <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/parents-6-year-old-sandy-hook-victim-say-alex-jones-made-life-living-h-rcna41204">testified</a> during the trial. Heslin said that “the negligence and recklessness of Alex Jones” had made the grieving parent’s life a “living hell.”
“Having a 6-year-old son shot in front of his classroom is unbearable and you don’t think you’re going to survive and then to have someone on top of that perpetuate a lie that it was a hoax, that it was a false flag,” Lewis testified. “I don’t think you understand the fear you perpetuate, not just to the victim’s family but to our family, our friends and any survivor from that school.”
At one point during the trial, Jones’s legal team accidentally <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/alex-jones-attorney-sent-his-private-messages-to-other-side-opposing-counsel-says">sent</a> opposing attorneys a copy of Jones’ text messages. The messages purportedly revealed that Jones had made false statements about messages he sent referencing the Sandy Hook shooting. According to the parents’ attorney, Jones said earlier under oath he could not locate any messages, but his messages revealed that he sent many of them.
“Mr. Jones, did you know that 12 days ago, your attorneys messed up and sent me an entire digital copy of your entire cellphone with every text message you’ve sent for the past two years?” Mark Bankston, an attorney for Lewis and Heslin, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/03/us/politics/alex-jones-trial-sandy-hook.html">asked</a> Jones. “You know what perjury is, right?”
Jones responded that he did and maintained that he told the truth.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Attorney Mark Bankston told <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AlexJones?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AlexJones</a> that his attorney messed up and sent him Jones&#39; entire cell phone history. &quot;Did you know that your lawyers messed up and sent me your entire cell phone texting history 12 days ago?&quot; Bankston asked. &quot;You know what perjury is right?&quot; <a href="https://t.co/IfIiP5UTIg">pic.twitter.com/IfIiP5UTIg</a>
&mdash; Law&amp;Crime Network (@LawCrimeNetwork) <a href="https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetwork/status/1554878549319946242?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 3, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Alex Jones Ordered To Pay $4.1 Million In Sandy Hook Defamation Trial

Alex Jones Fined $4.1 Million In Sandy Hook Defamation Trial

The defamation trial against Infowars founder Alex Jones took a big turn on Wednesday when the attorneys representing the parents of a Sandy Hook victim said that that Jones’ attorney accidentally sent them the conspiracy theorist’s text messages.
Mark Bankston, who is representing the parents of a Sandy Hook victim who are suing Jones over his claims the shooting was a hoax, revealed the information during the trial, which is happening now.
&#8220;Twelve days ago, your attorneys messed up and sent me a digital copy of every text,&#8221; Bankston reportedly said, according to NBC News senior reporter Ben Collins. “You know what perjury is?”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Wow. Sandy Hook parents&#8217; lawyer is revealing that Alex Jones&#8217; lawyers sent him the contents of Jones&#8217; phone BY MISTAKE.
&#8220;12 days ago, your attorneys messed up and sent me a digital copy of every text&#8221; Jones has sent for years.
&#8220;You know what perjury is?&#8221; the lawyer asks.
— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) <a href="https://twitter.com/oneunderscore__/status/1554864067508060160?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 3, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Collins, who is watching the trial, followed up his tweet by saying that Bankston was “now asking Jones about the times he has emailed about Sandy Hook over the last several years, despite testifying under oath he couldn&#8217;t find any emails about Sandy Hook. There are apparently a lot of them.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Sandy Hook parents&#8217; lawyer is now asking Jones about the times he has emailed about Sandy Hook over the last several years, despite testifying under oath he couldn&#8217;t find any emails about Sandy Hook. There are apparently a lot of them. One is on a screen right now.
— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) <a href="https://twitter.com/oneunderscore__/status/1554864549127503872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 3, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
In another tweet, Collins said the judge in the case began instructing jurors “on the entire contents of Alex Jones’ phone.”
&#8220;What we do know is that it was not properly turned over when it should have been,&#8221; the judge said, according to Collins.
Not only did the texts apparently confirm Jones had discussed Sandy Hook despite earlier testimony, they also revealed that, for at least a couple days in 2018, Jones’ website Infowars earned up to $800,000, a number Jones said was the result of a good week during the Conservative Political Action Convention.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
These texts and emails are FINALLY revealing financials behind Infowars.
Some days in 2018, InfoWars was making $800,000 a day.
&#8220;Well after your deplatforming, your numbers keep getting better,&#8221; Sandy Hook parents&#8217; lawyer says.
If they keep that up, that&#8217;s ~$300 mill. a year.
— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) <a href="https://twitter.com/oneunderscore__/status/1554867649150156805?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 3, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Jones is being sued by Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, whose 6-year-old son Jesse Lewis was one of 20 children killed during a mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, on December 14, 2012. Jones spoke in his defense on Tuesday, explaining he never intended to cause them harm when he falsely claimed the shooting was a hoax.
&#8220;I question every big event,&#8221; Jones said on the stand, <a href="https://news.yahoo.com/alex-jones-testifies-in-own-defense-at-sandy-hook-defamation-trial-221940211.html">according to Yahoo News</a>.
At the time, Jones claimed the mass shooting was staged and called the parents of the slain children “crisis actors” allegedly hired by the “deep state.”
Earlier on Tuesday, Heslin and Lewis testified against Jones.
&#8220;Jesse was real,&#8221; Lewis reportedly said. &#8220;I am a real mom.&#8221;
Jones said on the stand that he believes “Scarlett Lewis is real” and that “her son died.” Jones also admitted on the stand that the massacre was “100% real,” CBS News <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/alex-jones-trial-testimony-sandy-hook-massacre-100-percent-real/">reported</a>.
As Yahoo noted, Jones has been hosting his popular conspiracy program throughout the trial, and said on Tuesday – while Heslin was testifying in court – that the grieving father “acts like somebody on the spectrum” and “is being manipulated by some very bad people.&#8221;
Jones testified later that day as the only witness in his defense. After the jury was released, Judge Maya Guerra Gamble scolded Jones for “abusing my tolerance and making asides to the jury.”
&#8220;This is not your show,&#8221; Gamble told Jones, according to Yahoo. &#8220;You&#8217;re under oath. That means things must actually be true when you say them.&#8221;
&#8220;I believed them to be true,&#8221; Jones responded.
&#8220;You believe everything is true,&#8221; Gamble said.

Demonstrators Protests At Texas State Capitol Against Governor’s Stay At Home Order

Alex Jones’ Attorney Accidentally Sent His Private Messages To Other Side, Opposing Counsel Says

Alex Jones' Attorney Sent His Private Messages To Other Side, Opposing Counsel Says

Defamation

Infowars founder Alex Jones on Sunday filed for voluntary Chapter 11 after losing lawsuits filed by parents of children killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, according to reports.
The conspiracy website filed for bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/alex-jones-infowars-files-bankruptcy-us-court-2022-04-18/" data-type="URL" data-id="https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/alex-jones-infowars-files-bankruptcy-us-court-2022-04-18/">according</a> to Reuters. If the request is approved, the website can continue to operate while it sets up a plan to reorganize. The move would also suspend further civil litigation.
On his radio show, as well as Infowars.com, Jones claimed the December 14, 2012, shooting at the elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut &#8212; which killed 20 first graders and six educators &#8212; was a “hoax” staged by &#8220;crisis actors.&#8221; He said their intent was to spur more opposition to the Second Amendment.
Over the last year, the far-right host was found liable for damages in at least three defamation cases brought by families of the victims, and several other suits are pending.
Jones offered to settle the lawsuits by paying $120,000 to each plaintiff, but the families rejected the proposal, The Hill <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/wire/600305-sandy-hook-families-reject-alex-jones-settlement-offer/">reported</a>. No damages have yet been assessed, but a trial to set them is scheduled to begin in August.
Last month, Jones was fined $75,000 when he did not appear for a deposition in a defamation case, but a judge refunded the money when Jones appeared.
&#8220;Alex Jones is just delaying the inevitable: a public trial in which he will be held accountable for his profit-driven campaign of lies against the Sandy Hook families who have brought this lawsuit,” Christopher Mattei, who represents the families in a Connecticut lawsuit against Jones, said at the time, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/alex-jones-infowars-bankruptcy-filing-1a3b51946cb06c5f90c341d3118947cf">according</a> to the Associated Press.
&#8220;Another newly filed <a class="" href="https://apnews.com/article/business-alex-jones-austin-texas-lawsuits-00b6df5205d733e31bfc1e4377edcd26">lawsuit</a> accuses Jones of hiding millions of dollars in assets, but an attorney for Jones has called that allegation &#8216;ridiculous.'&#8221; the AP reported.
That lawsuit claims Jones is hiding money and that he drew $18 million from Infowars over the last three years.
“After Alex Jones was sued for claiming the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary was a hoax, the infamous conspiracy theorist conspired to divert his assets to shell companies owned by insiders like his parents, his children, and himself,” says the lawsuit, which was filed in Austin, Texas, by more families of the Sandy Hook victims.
&#8220;According to the lawsuit, Jones is accused of drawing about $18 million from his Infowars company over three years, starting in 2018 when the defamation lawsuits were filed. Jones is also accused of claiming a &#8216;dubious&#8217; $54 million debt around that time to another company, which the lawsuit alleges is indirectly or directly owned by Jones.&#8221;
The wire service cited Norm Pattis, an attorney for Jones, who said no one is hiding assets. &#8220;The suggestion is ridiculous. We look forward to litigating these issues,” Pattis said.
Joseph Curl has covered politics for 35 years, including 12 years as White House correspondent, and ran the Drudge Report from 2010 to 2015. Send tips to josephcurl@dailywire.com and follow him on Twitter @josephcurl.

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