InfoWars founder and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones is set to testify to defend himself against claims that he must pay the parents of elementary school children killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting for claiming that the massacre was a hoax.
Mr Jones is expected to testify on Tuesday. He’s on trial in Austin, Texas, where InfoWars is located, to decide how much he has to pay for propagating the fallacies concerning the school shooting that took the lives of 20 children and six adult employees at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, according to Reuters.
Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, the parents of Jesse Lewis, who was six years old when he was killed in the shooting on 14 December 2012, are seeking damages of up to $150m from the radio and web show host as well as from his company – Free Speech Systems LLC.
An attorney representing Mr Jones has said that he has already faced consequences for the claims after he was pushed off of platforms in 2018, losing an audience of millions.
Mr Jones has since admitted that the shooting was real. An attorney representing the parents, who are also set to testify on Tuesday, said Mr Jones would take the stand today, according to Reuters.
The defamation trial in Texas is one of the numerous cases brought by families of the Sandy Hook victims who say that they have been harassed by fans of Mr Jones following his false allegations that the shooting was faked.
The gunman in the shooting, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, used a rifle – a Remington Bushmaster – in the shooting, which ended when he died by suicide as police were closing in.
Free Speech Systems LLC filed for bankruptcy on Friday, which would usually lead to the end of the trial, but according to a court filing, the company planned to request a bankruptcy judge to let the trial continue.
Mr Jones and the company could try to use the bankruptcy case to restrain the amount of the damages awarded by a jury.
Three other InfoWars entities suggested $10m to end the case in April, far below any amount put forward by the families of the Sandy Hook victims.
That proposal also added protections from the lawsuits for Mr Jones and his company.
Those three entities, InfoW, IW Health and Prison Planet, have already declared bankruptcy and voluntarily ceased their litigation last month when the Sandy Hook families removed them as defendants.
Last year, Mr Jones was found liable in the lawsuits launched by the Sandy Hook families.
Those judgements came after Mr Jones went against orders from the court and refused to hand over documents related to the case.
Mr Jones previously claimed that the shooting was faked by those pushing for stricter gun control measures, aided by the press.
The restructuring advisor for Free Speech Systems, Marc Schwartz, said in a court filing that it’s in the interest of the company to carry on with the ongoing trial to determine damages because large amounts of money have been spent by both parties.
The Sandy Hook families said the bankruptcy filing in April was a “sinister” attempt to protect Mr Jones’ assets from liability.
Concerning the most recent bankruptcy filing, Mr Schwartz said that the legal case related to Sandy Hook led to InfoWars being closed out from large internet, social media, and financial institutions and that its business declined because of it.
Attorney Mark Bankston represents the Sandy Hook families. He texted Reuters last week, saying “our clients are pleased that despite the bankruptcy, their trial will continue and that the jury will return a verdict”.
“Now, InfoWars is heading directly for its long-awaited, reckoning”, he added.
