WATERBURY, Conn. — A Connecticut jury on Wednesday ordered conspiracy theorist Alex Jones to pay $965 million to people who suffered from his false claim that the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012 was a hoax.
Eight families were awarded the money in the verdict, the largest cash award so far in a legal battle to hold the Infowars founder accountable for circulating falsehoods about the mass shooting, where 20 children and six school staff members were killed in Newtown, Connecticut, The Washington Post reported.
The jury’s decision divided the money among 15 plaintiffs, according to The New York Times: 14 relatives of eight Sandy Hook victims, and William Aldenberg, an FBI agent targeted by conspiracy theorists. The plaintiffs were awarded varying amounts by the jurors, according to the newspaper.
It is the second big judgment against Jones, who said that the mass shooting never happened and that the grieving families seen in media coverage were actors hired as a part of a scheme to take away people’s guns, according to The Associated Press.
“You may say that is astronomical. It is,” said Christopher Mattei, the plaintiffs’ attorney. “It’s exactly what Alex Jones set himself up to do. That’s what he built. He built a lie machine that could push this stuff out. You reap what you sow.”
Jones’ attorneys said they would appeal the decision.
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