Lies about school massacres
Trump propagandist Jones has to pay $45 million
08/06/2022, 07:35 am
Trump agitator and right-wing propagandist Alex Jones had to pay four million in damages for lying about the Sandy Hook massacre. Now something is added again – eleven times the amount.
Far-right US conspiracy theorist Alex Jones has been fined an additional $45.2 million for his false claims about a Sandy Hook elementary school massacre. He is now said to have paid a total of more than $49 million in compensation to a victim’s parents. This was reported by several US media on Friday from the courtroom in Texas. Already on Thursday he had been sentenced to more than 4 million US dollars in damages.
Friday’s verdict is what is known as punitive damages, which is also intended to act as a deterrent and is often significantly higher than the actual damages. Jones has previously claimed that the December 2012 shooting was staged by actors. A 20-year-old man shot and killed 20 school children and six teachers in Newtown, Connecticut.
The parents of a then six-year-old boy who was killed had sued the right-wing radio presenter because of his allegations. You had previously described the emotional suffering caused by the lies of the 48-year-old. They demanded $150 million in compensation. The conspiracy theorist’s attorney argued the plaintiffs had failed to prove his client’s words actually caused harm.
Jones has made a lot of money and a large following from spreading conspiracy theories. For example, Jones had claimed that the US government was involved in the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York. He is also known as a supporter of former US President Donald Trump. Jones, for example, appropriated Trump’s false claim that his election loss to current President Joe Biden was the result of massive fraud. Jones was also in Washington when radical Trump supporters stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021. He was questioned behind closed doors by the parliamentary inquiry into the storming of the Capitol.