Alex Jones Loses by Default in Sandy Hook Defamation Lawsuits

Alex Jones, the Infowars laminitis and conspiracy theorist who claimed that the Sandy Hook schoolhouse shooting successful 2012 was a hoax, has mislaid 2 defamation lawsuits filed successful Texas by victims’ families due to the fact that helium failed to supply requested accusation to the court, filings show.

Judge Maya Guerra Gamble issued the rulings connected Monday successful the Civil District Court of Travis County. They were made nationalist connected Thursday, HuffPost reported. A lawyer for the parents of children killed successful the attack, Mark D. Bankston, provided copies of the filings to The New York Times connected Friday.

The defendants, including Mr. Jones and his integer channel, Infowars, had made “persistent find abuses” by failing to crook implicit documents arsenic required and by failing to transportation retired different obligations required by the court, Judge Guerra Gamble wrote successful the filings.

Mr. Bankston said the adjacent measurement would beryllium a proceedings scheduled for March 28, erstwhile a assemblage volition determine the damages.

This week’s rulings were the latest twist successful the ineligible battles against Mr. Jones since helium and his Infowars media cognition began spreading mendacious claims that the shooting that killed 20 archetypal graders and six adults astatine Sandy Hook Elementary School successful Newtown, Conn., was an elaborate hoax.

In 2018, aft the families of the victims were stalked and threatened, parents of 2 children killed astatine Sandy Hook accused Mr. Jones of defamation successful lawsuits filed successful Austin, Texas, wherever Infowars is based.

One was filed by Leonard Pozner and Veronique De La Rosa, whose 6-year-old son, Noah, was killed astatine the school. Another suit was filed by Neil Heslin, whose son, Jesse Lewis, was besides fatally shot. Scarlett Lewis, Jesse’s mother, filed a 3rd lawsuit.

In 2019, the Texas Court of Appeals rejected Mr. Jones’s efforts to person each 3 cases dismissed connected escaped code grounds. The aforesaid year, Judge Scott Jenkins of Travis County District Court held Mr. Jones successful contempt for failing to nutrient records successful Mr. Heslin’s suit, ordering Mr. Jones to wage $25,875 successful lawyer fees.

In her rulings connected Monday, Judge Guerra Gamble addressed the different 2 lawsuits.

In an bid granting Ms. Lewis’s question for contempt, Judge Guerra Gamble cited the defendants’ “general atrocious faith” toward the litigation, and mentioned Mr. Jones’s “public threats” arsenic good arsenic his content that the proceedings were “show trials,” the papers said.

The defendants “intentionally disobeyed the court’s order” by failing to supply documents for discovery, depositions and different obligations, she wrote.

She made the aforesaid ruling for Mr. Pozner and Ms. De La Rosa, saying that the defendants “unreasonably and vexatiously failed to comply” with their duties.

In a connection connected Friday, Mr. Bankston said Mr. Jones was fixed “ample accidental to instrumentality these lawsuits earnestly and obey the regularisation of law.”

“He chose not to bash so, and present helium volition look the consequences for that decision,” Mr. Bankston said.

A lawyer for Mr. Jones and Infowars, Norm Pattis, said successful a statement connected the Infowars website that the default ruling was “stunning” and a “blatant maltreatment of discretion.”

“It takes nary relationship of the tens of thousands of documents produced by the defendants, the hours spent sitting for depositions and the assorted sworn statements filed successful these cases,” Mr. Pattis said.

Mr. Jones had spread the mendacious claim that the Sandy Hook shooting was a fraud, and that the victims’ relatives were actors successful a hoax planned by authorities “gun grabbers.”

In 2015, helium showed viewers Mr. Pozner’s idiosyncratic accusation and maps to addresses associated with his family, according to tribunal documents. Lucy Richards, an avowed Infowars listener, made repeated decease threats against Mr. Pozner, sending the household into hiding.

In 2017, Mr. Jones made a little broadcast to connection the Sandy Hook parents “sincere condolences” for the nonaccomplishment of their children successful “the horrible tragedy.” He has blamed the media for inconsistencies successful the sum of the shooting.