John Oliver rips into Alex Jones
The Infowars founder and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones now faces two more defamation trials filed by parents of other victims, after he was ordered to pay a total of $49m in damages.
One trial is in Texas brought by the parents of another victim of the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting. His lawyer said on Friday that the case is on pause due to his company’s bankruptcy.
The second trial is in Waterbury, Connecticut, for the families of eight other victims.
The jury in Austin, Texas, decided on Thursday he must pay more than $4m in compensation to the parents of six-year-old Jesse Lewis who was killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre. On Friday they ordered Jones to pay an additional $45.2m in punitive damages.
Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis filed a defamation suit against Jones over his claims that the school shooting, that saw 20 children and six adults killed, was a hoax.
It transpired during the trial that his own lawyer had mistakenly shared the entire contents of Jones’ phone with the opposition legal team who have been asked to provide it to the January 6 committee.
