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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Graeme Massie

Alex Jones sarcastically claims he killed Sandy Hook victims in unhinged rant about defamation verdict

AP

Infowars host Alex Jones sarcastically claimed he killed Sandy Hook victims in an unhinged rant about the $50m defamation verdict that a Texas jury made against him.

Jones made the inflammatory comments, his first since losing a defamation case brought by the family of one of the school children murdered in the mass shooting, during an interview with YouTube journalist Andrew Callaghan.

In the interview, a seemingly frustrated Jones responded to a question about the shooting by claiming personal responsibility for the deaths of the 20 children and six adults killed in the 2012 massacre in Connecticut.

Jones, a right-wing conspiracy theorist, was asked by Callaghan, “Do you feel responsible for what happened to the Sandy Hook families?”

“Yes, I killed the children,” Jones replied antagonistically to the question as Callaghan tried to get him to answer it seriously.

“But beyond that I mean,” Callaghan said in response, before being quickly cut off by Jones.

“No. I went in that school, I pulled a gun out, and I shot every one of them myself. I am guilty, it’s true,” he said.

And he added: “Do I feel responsible that someone that played shoot-em-up video games, on a bunch of drugs, went and killed a bunch of kids and then the internet questioned it, and I covered that?” Jones asked rhetorically.

“No, I don’t feel responsible, and I don’t apologise,” he said before adding, “I killed the kids.”

When Callaghan then tried to ask him another question, Jones again told him, “No, I killed them,” before holding up his hands in a guilty motion and repeating, “I killed them.”

Callagan then bluntly told him, “No, you didn’t kill them”, to which Jones again replied, “No, I did.”

Jones went on to call himself “the bad guy! I’m the devil” and added: ‘We should bow five times a day to New Haven, Connecticut for the kids that died. Every American’s to blame, every gun owner’s to blame, I am to blame. We are all guilty.”

The bizarre moment was featured in a preview for Callaghan’s Channel 5 Patreon show.

Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis filed a defamation suit against Jones over his claims that the school shooting was a false flag operation and the victims paid actors.

Both gave impassioned testimony when in the witness box about how Jones’ lies — broadcast to millions — had impacted their lives and prolonged their grief.

Jones was ordered to pay $4m in compensatory damages to the family, as well as $45.2m in punitive damages. Texas law limits the amount of damages people have to pay in lawsuits, and lawyers for jones have said they will appeal

During the trial, Jones admitted during testimony that he knew that the shooting and the victims were actually real.

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