Alex Jones Ordered To Pay Another $473 Million For Sandy Hook Conspiracy Theories

Topline

A Connecticut judge on Thursday ordered Alex Jones and his company, Free Speech Systems, to pay $473 million in punitive damages for spreading conspiracy theories about the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, according to multiple news outlets, adding to the $965 million the radio host was already ordered to pay in a defamation suit brought by Sandy Hook victims’ families.

Alex Jones ordered to pay another $473 million in Sandy Hook defamation case.

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Key Facts

Judge Barbara Bellis ruled that Jones’ false claims that the 2012 massacre was a hoax were “intentional and malicious,” according to the Associated Press.

The punitive damages award includes $323 million for the plaintiffs’ attorney fees and $150 million for violations of Connecticut’s Unfair Trade Practices Act.

As part of the same Connecticut defamation case last month, a jury ordered Jones to pay families $965 million in compensatory damages.

The plaintiffs previously suggested Jones could have been ordered to pay upward of $2.75 trillion under the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act, following 550 million alleged violations each assessed at the $5,000 statutory maximum.

Norm Pattis, the attorney representing Jones, argued against the plaintiffs’ suggestion and said the nearly $1 billion in compensatory damages already awarded were justification for minimal punitive damages.

Contra

Jones mocked the decision on his show Thursday: “Well, of course I’m laughing at it,” Jones said “It’d be like if you sent me a bill for a billion dollars in the mail. Oh man, we got you. It’s all for psychological effect.”

Crucal Quote

Attorney Chris Mattei applauded the ruling, according to Reuters, and said the ruling in favor of the plaintiffs “serves to reinforce the message of this case: Those who profit from lies targeting the innocent will face justice.”

Surprising Fact

A day before the ruling, Bellis froze Jones’ assets over concerns he was “looting” his estate and moving it into shell companies run by family members. Free Speech Systems filed for bankruptcy protection in July after listing $14.3 million in assets and over $79 million in debts.

Big Number

$270 million. That’s the estimated net worth of Jones and Free Speech Systems, according to a forensic economist who testified in a separate Sandy Hook defamation trial in Texas in August, refuting Jones’ claims that he is worth only a “couple hundred thousand dollars.”

Key Background

The added damages follow an ongoing legal battle between the families of eight victims killed in the Newtown, Connecticut, shooting and Jones, who falsely said on his Infowars show that the massacre–which killed 20 first graders and six school staff members–was staged to aid the government in taking away Americans’ guns. Family members and one FBI agent who responded to the scene say they have been harassed as a result of Jone’s conspiracy theories, leading to the lawsuits. Jones was found liable for defamation by default last year after he declined to cooperate with the discovery process, so jurors in Connecticut were tasked only with deciding how much Jones should need to pay in damages to victims’ families.