Right-Wing Conspiracy Theorist Alex Jones Ordered To Pay Over $100K After Claiming Sandy Hook Massacre Was A Hoax

Right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones has been ordered to pay $100,000 after asserting that the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre was a hoax, court records show.

Jones, founder of the Infowars radio show and webcast, has claimed that mainstream media and gun-control supporters conspired to create a fake shooting in which six school staff and 20 children died, at Sandy Hook in Newton, Connecticut on Dec. 14, 2012. Six school staff and 20 children died

Several parents of the slain children sued Jones and Infowars for defamation and emotional distress in both Texas, where Infowars is based, and in Connecticut.

In Texas, Travis County District Court Judge Scott Jenkins ordered Jones and Infowars on Dec. 20 to pay over $100,000 in a case brought by Neil Heslin, whose 6-year-old son, Jesse Lewis, was killed at the school.

According to HuffPost, Jones was ordered to pay more than $100,000 for failing to provide discovery, or evidence owed to the opposing side, and for filing a request to dismiss the case. The same judge ordered Jones in October to pay another $25,875 for failing to respond to a previous discovery order.

His attorney argued that Jones has the right to free speech.

Jones later conceded in a deposition that the “children died and it’s a tragedy,” but denied he had wronged the parents.

Mark Bankston, an attorney representing Heslin and three other Sandy Hook parents, said Jones has “put a middle finger up to the court.”

He added, “Hopefully these orders will have the effect of telling him there’s severe consequences for this.”