Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones has said he now understands it was irresponsible of him to declare the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre a hoax and that he now believes it was “100 percent real”.
Jones made the admission a day after the parents of a six-year-old boy killed in the attack testified about the suffering, death threats and harassment they have endured because of what Jones has trumpeted on his media platforms.
“It was … especially since I’ve met the parents. It’s 100 percent real,” Jones testified at his trial to determine how much he owes for defaming the parents of a six-year-old who was among the 20 students and six educators killed in the 2012 attack at the school in Newtown, Connecticut.
The parents who sued Jones had said a day earlier that an apology would not be enough and that the Infowars host needed to be held accountable for repeatedly spreading falsehoods about the attack. They are seeking at least $150m.
Closing arguments are expected to begin later Wednesday after more testimony from Jones, who has portrayed the lawsuit as an attack on his First Amendment rights.
Jones is the only person testifying in defence of himself and his media company, Free Speech Systems. His lawyer asked him if he now understands it was “absolutely irresponsible” to push the false claims that the massacre did not happen and no one died.
Jones said he does, but added, “They [the media] won’t let me take it back.”
He also complained that he has been “typecast as someone that runs around talking about Sandy Hook, makes money off Sandy Hook, is obsessed by Sandy Hook”.
Jones’s testimony came a day after Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, whose son Jesse Lewis was killed in the attack, testified that Jones and the false hoax claims pushed by Jones and his Infowars website made their lives a “living hell” of death threats, online abuse and harassment.
They led a day of charged testimony on Tuesday that included the judge scolding the bombastic Jones for not being truthful with some of what he said under oath.
In a gripping exchange, Lewis spoke directly to Jones, who was sitting about 10 feet away. Earlier that day, Jones was on his broadcast programme telling his audience that Heslin is “slow” and being manipulated by bad people.
“I am a mother first and foremost and I know you are a father. My son existed,” Lewis said to Jones. “I am not deep state … I know you know that … And yet you’re going to leave this courthouse and say it again on your show.”
At one point, Lewis asked Jones, “Do you think I’m an actor?”
“No, I don’t think you’re an actor,” Jones responded before the judge admonished him to be quiet until called to testify.
Heslin and Lewis are among several Sandy Hook families who have filed several lawsuits alleging that the Sandy Hook hoax claims pushed by Jones have led to years of abuse by him and his followers.
Heslin and Lewis said they fear for their lives and have been confronted by strangers at home and on the street. Heslin said his home and car have been shot at. The jury heard a death threat sent via telephone message to another Sandy Hook family.
“I can’t even describe the last nine and a half years, the living hell that I and others have had to endure because of the recklessness and negligence of Alex Jones,” Heslin said.
Scarlett Lewis also described threatening emails that seemed to have uncovered deep details of her personal life.
“It’s fear for your life,” Scarlett Lewis said. “You don’t know what they were going to do.”
Heslin said he did not know if the Sandy Hook hoax conspiracy theory originated with Jones, but it was Jones who “lit the match and started the fire” with an online platform and broadcast that reached millions worldwide.
“What was said about me and Sandy Hook itself resonates around the world,” Heslin said. “As time went on, I truly realized how dangerous it was.”
Jones skipped Heslin’s Tuesday morning testimony while he was on his show — a move Heslin dismissed as “cowardly” — but arrived in the courtroom for part of Scarlett Lewis’s testimony. He was accompanied by several private security guards.
“Today is very important to me and it’s been a long time coming … to face Alex Jones for what he said and did to me. To restore the honour and legacy of my son,” Heslin said when Jones was not there.
Heslin told the jury about holding his son with a bullet hole through his head, even describing the extent of the damage to his son’s body. A key segment of the case is a 2017 Infowars broadcast that said Heslin did not hold his son.
The jury was shown a school picture of a smiling Jesse taken two weeks before he was killed. The parents did not receive the photo until after the shooting. They described how Jesse was known for telling classmates to “run!” which likely saved lives.
An apology from Jones would not be good enough, the parents said.
“Alex started this fight,” Heslin said, “and I’ll finish this fight.”
Jones later took the stand and was initially combative with the judge, who had asked him to answer his own lawyer’s question. Jones testified he had long wanted to apologise to the plaintiffs.
Later, the judge sent the jury out of the room and strongly scolded Jones for telling the jury he had complied with pretrial evidence gathering even though he did not, and that he is bankrupt, which has not been determined. The plaintiffs’ lawyers were furious about Jones claiming that he is bankrupt, which they worry will taint the jury’s decisions about damages.
“This is not your show,” Judge Maya Guerra Gamble told Jones. “Your beliefs do not make something true. You are under oath.”
Last September, the judge admonished Jones in her default judgement over his failure to turn over documents requested by the Sandy Hook families. A court in Connecticut issued a similar default judgement against Jones for the same reasons in a separate lawsuit brought by other Sandy Hook parents.
At stake in the trial is how much Jones will pay. The parents have asked the jury to award $150m in compensation for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The jury will then consider whether Jones and his company will pay punitive damages.
Jones has already tried to protect Free Speech Systems financially. The company filed for federal bankruptcy protection last week. Sandy Hook families have separately sued Jones over his financial claims, arguing that the company is trying to protect millions owned by Jones and his family through shell entities.
