For years, through his website Infowars and in popular podcasts, Jones spread false claims that the massacre was in fact a “hoax” that never happened.
However, during the trial, which began just over two weeks ago in Austin, he was forced to withdraw his claims because a large claim for damages was hanging over him. At the final day of the hearing on Wednesday, Jones said under oath that the incident was “100 percent real.”
“I inadvertently participated in things that hurt these people’s feelings,” Jones said, while admitting that he also spread conspiratorial claims about other national tragedies.
— And I’m sorry for that.
Can be more expensive
In the Sandy Hook attack, one of the deadliest in the United States, 20 elementary school students and six teachers were murdered. Followers of the conspiracy theorist have harassed and threatened to kill relatives of the victims.
The amount of damages was significantly less than the $150 million that the two parents in Texas had demanded. But Alex Jones, who was not present when the jury read its verdict, may end up paying significantly more than the $4.1 million he was sentenced to this time.
Later on Friday, the Texas court will decide whether, in addition to the damages, he should also be sentenced to pay a so-called penalty amount.
Banned from social media
Jones must also pay damages in a separate defamation suit to other parents of victims of the massacre in Newtown, Connecticut. The lawsuit filings did not specify an exact amount Jones must pay.
The damages are a new threat to Jones’ business operations. He has already been suspended from Youtube, Facebook and Spotify for having violated the platforms’ rules against hate speech.