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A Connecticut jury ordered Alex Jones to pay nearly $1 billion to families of the victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting for spreading lies about the massacre.
Six adults and 20 children were killed during the shooting in December 2012 in Newtown, Connecticut, just 20 miles away from where victims' families gave tearful testimony in Waterbury Superior Court during the trial.
Jones repeatedly told millions of listeners on his Infowars show that the shooting was a hoax and the victims were crisis actors hired as part of a scheme to impose gun control laws.
Infowars founder Alex Jones testifies at the Sandy Hook defamation damages trial at Connecticut Superior Court in Waterbury, Conn., on Sept. 22, 2022. (Tyler Sizemore/Hearst Connecticut Media via AP, Pool, File)
The parents and siblings of the victims testified that they were subjected to relentless harassment and abuse from people who believe Jones' lies.
CONNECTICUT JUDGE FINDS ALEX JONES LIABLE OVER ‘HOAX’ SANDY HOOK CLAIMS
Robbie Parker, a plaintiff whose 6-year-old daughter was killed in the shooting, was awarded $120 million. He said at trial that the decade of harassment forced his family to leave Connecticut for Washington state.
"It would come in these waves," Parker testified last month. "It was almost like I knew when Alex Jones said something, because we would get a huge wave of stuff."
David Wheeler wipes away tears as attorney Chris Mattei shows a photograph of his family, including son Ben Wheeler, during closing statements in the Alex Jones Sandy Hook defamation damages trial in Superior Court in Waterbury, Conn., on Thursday. (H John Voorhees III/Hearst Connecticut Media via AP, Pool)
Matthew Soto, the brother of slain teacher Vicki Soto, testified that he was approached at his own high school by someone questioning whether his sister had really died.
Jones admitted at trial that the shooting happened but remained combative, referring to the ordeal as a "kangaroo court" and calling the judge a "tyrant."
"Is this a struggle session?" Jones said at one point last month. "Are we in China? I’ve already said I’m sorry hundreds of times, and I’m done saying I’m sorry."
Jacqueline Barden pauses as she testifies during the Alex Jones Sandy Hook defamation damages trial at Connecticut Superior Court in Waterbury, Conn., on Oct. 4, 2022. (Christian Abraham/Hearst Connecticut Media via AP, Pool)
It's the second massive judgment against Jones. In August, a Texas jury awarded $49.3 million to Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, whose 6-year-old son was killed in the shooting.
Infowars' parent company, Free Speech Systems, filed for bankruptcy shortly before Jones' trial began.
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A third trial in Texas involving the parents of a slain child is expected to take place later this year.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
