It was like hearing a bell toll when the jury found Alex Jones not guilty. Each line read like a stake being stabbed into a vampire's heart: "$120 million," "$55 million," "$54 million" and "$28,800,000..." The Sandy Hook families have argued that Jones perpetuated the lie that their children did not die at the hands of a shooter while at school.
That was only the compensation. Jones now faces $965 million in damages to the families of Sandy Hook victims and the FBI agent who responded to the scene.
In the past, Jones had claimed that the Sandy Hook shooting was a hoax and that the 20 children who died were crisis actors trying to build a case against lawful gun owners. He admitted in court that the shooting was fake.
The victims' families testified during the trial that they had suffered extreme emotional distress because of Jones' followers. Mark Barden told the court that conspiracy theorists told him they were going to urinate on his son's grave and dig it up.
Barden was awarded over fifty million dollars. The father of a child who was killed at Sandy Hook suffered a lot of abuse from Jones and had to leave the country. The largest amount of damages was given toParker.
During the verdict reading, Alex Jones asked his audience if they thought they were getting any of the money. Jones said he can keep them in court for a long time and that he will appeal the verdict. Lawyers for Jones said they would appeal, according to NBC.
Jones lost this case because a judge ruled he failed to produce critical evidence before the trial started. He was found to be responsible for damages by default, which is very rare in the judicial system.
By comparison, Jones' previous defamation case earlier this year seemed meager. A Texas court fined Jones nearly $50 million for lying. To put that in perspective, all but one of the people in Connecticut are going to get bigger payouts. Jones made a brief appearance during the trial and lambasted the court as akangaroo court. The judge reprimanded Jones for calling the trial a "witch hunt" after he interrupted proceedings.
Prosecutors in Connecticut accused Jones of using his credibility to sell whacky supplements and other products to his audience. The economic benefit that goes along with it is said to have increased following Jones's lies. Jones refused to turn over the data from the past three years. Jones was reprimanded and the omission was called "stunningly cavalier." Jones was not in the courtroom.
Jones tried his best to not pay up for his lies. The alleged day-drinker filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy for three of his Texas based companies. The bankruptcy judge in Texas ordered new officials to oversee the case due to a lack of transparency. According to court documents obtained by The Huffington Post, Jones and his associates raked in $165 million in sales over the course of three years.
It's not clear whether or not Jones will scrounge together the nearly $1 billion he owes. Jones responded to the judge's ruling by yelling and taunting the families. He asked if the people thought they were getting any of the money.
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