The years-long legal battle between far-right conspiracy theorist and Infowars host Alex Jones and the families of victims killed in the Sandy Hook massacre continued today with Mr Jones being held in contempt of court.
Mr Jones was found guilty of defamation in multiple lawsuits last year after he falsely said the 2012 school shooting that left 26 dead was “a giant hoax”. The cases are now headed to jury trials to determine damages.
The legal proceedings were thrust back into the spotlight last week when Mr Jones failed to appear twice for a deposition that he had sought to delay because he was too sick to attend — despite the fact that he continued hosting his Infowars show.
At issue in today’s virtual hearing - which took place at 2pm EST - wss the plaintiffs’ motion to hold Mr Jones in contempt of court for dodging the deposition.
Hours before the hearing, Mr Jones offered to settle the cases by giving a “heartfelt apology” and $120,000 payout per plaintiff. That offer was rejected by the families.
Judge Barbara Bellis found him in contempt today and issued a $25,000 per day fine until he sits for two days of deposition in Connecticut, upon which the fines will be refunded.
