Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones was not in court on Tuesday as the sister of a teacher killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting and an FBI agent described what it was like to live in fear for their lives amid accusations that they were crisis actors.
The duo were the first witnesses to testify against Mr Jones, who is facing his second trial over conspiracies spread on his Infowars show about the 2012 school shooting, in the Connecticut trial.
A jury heard how Carlee Soto Parisi, the sister of a victim, “frequently got threatening emails and messages on all social media, and it got to a point where they would use the gun emoji”, following claims aired by Jones that the shooting was “fake”, and which he has since U-turned on.
Jones was last month ordered o pay nearly $50m to the parents of one of the slain children by a Texas jury amid similar lawsuits.
There is a six-member jury and several alternates who will ultimately decide how much the conspiracy theorist should pay relatives of eight victims and an FBI agent in the Connecticut trial.
