By Oliver Darcy, CNN Business
Alex Jones, the notorious far-right conspiracy theorist who falsely promoted the lie that the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was a hoax, was grilled on the stand Thursday at a defamation trial in Connecticut that will determine how much he will have to pay the families of victims who sued him and won.
Jones, who has sought to portray himself as a victim of an elaborate “deep state” conspiracy against him, was confronted during his testimony with some of his past unhinged rhetoric assailing the judicial system.
Christopher Mattei, a lawyer representing the Sandy Hook families, compelled Jones through questioning to acknowledge to the jury that he had referred to the proceedings as those of a “kangaroo court” and called the judge a “tyrant.”
The line of questioning by Mattei appeared aimed at showing the jury how little regard Jones had for the court.
The trial is taking place a month after a Texas jury determined that Jones and his company, Free Speech Systems, the parent of Infowars, should award two parents nearly $50 million.
Jones baselessly told his audience in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting that the incident was staged. He has since acknowledged the shooting occurred, but only after the lawsuits were filed. He said in a 2019 sworn deposition that a “form of psychosis” caused him to make his false comments.
In the Connecticut case, where Jones is being sued by eight more Sandy Hook families, Judge...
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