Many people across the US have praised a verdict against conspiracy theorist Alex Jones that will force the rightwing online personality to pay almost $1bn to those affected by his lies about the Sandy Hook shooting being a hoax.
But Jones himself has maintained a defiant attitude that he does not have the money to pay.
On Wednesday, a judge ordered the Infowars host to pay $965m in damages to the families of Sandy Hook victims. The damages will be divided among 15 plaintiffs who sued Jones for defamation as apart of a Connecticut lawsuit, with amounts ranging from $28m to $120m.
In a separate Texas lawsuit against Jones in August, a jury awarded almost $50m to the parents of another child who was killed in the Sandy Hook massacre, a 2012 mass shooting in which 20 children and six adults were killed.
Jones was not physically in the most recent courtroom, but reacted to the verdict on his Infowars show. Jones laughed and mocked the amounts that were awarded to the various individuals.
During his broadcast, Jones called the trial “all made up”, reported the Associated Press, encouraging his audience to donate money to his company and buy its products to offset the damages owed.
Jones has routinely claimed that he does not have the money to pay the large damages that he now owes. “Ain’t going to be happening. Ain’t no money,” he said on Wednesday during his show.
Jones added: “This must be what hell’s like – they just read out the damages. Even though you don’t got the money.”
But representatives for the families have argued that Jones is attempting to dodge the payments. In August, an economist estimated that Jones was worth $270m, reported the New York Times.
Jones has also made $50m annually in revenue from his Infowars empire, profits that increased during his defamation trials in Texas and Connecticut.
For years, Jones has used his online platform to claim the mass shooting was a hoax, falsehoods that brought increased attention and profits to his website, reports the New York Times.
Jones’s claims incited harassment and death threats towards the families, many of whom say they still struggle with the psychological impact of Jones’s lies.
Families say that they received regular abuse from Jones’s followers for years, including threats that the graves of their loved one would be dug up and vandalized.
Erica Lafferty, the daughter of slain Sandy hook principal Dawn Hochsprung, said that individuals have mailed rape threats to her home. Mark Barden testified how conspiracy theorists urinated on the grave of his seven-year old son, Daniel, and threatened to dig up the child’s coffin.
Reactions from the families were mostly tearful, with several individuals weeping while the verdict was being read, reported NBC News.
“Every day in that courtroom, we got up on the stand and we told the truth,” Robbie Parker, father of Sandy Hook victim Emilie Parker, said to the New York Times.
Parker added: “Telling the truth shouldn’t be so hard, and it shouldn’t be so scary.”
“I wish that after today, I can just be a daughter grieving my mother and stop worrying about the conspiracy theorists,” said Lafferty, adding that “[the] hate, lies and conspiracy theories will follow both me and my family through the rest of our days.”
Attorneys for the awarded families have said that Jones will be forced to pay despite his claims of bankruptcy.
“We are going to enforce this verdict as long as it takes because that is what justice requires,” said Chris Mattei, an attorney for the victims.
“There will be more Alex Joneses in this world, but what they learned here today is that they absolutely will be held accountable,” added Lafferty.
