Alex Jones did not appear in court to see Neil Heslin — father of six-year-old Sandy Hook shooting victim Jesse Lewis — testify about the pain his ...
To restore the honour and legacy of my son,” Heslin said during the trial. A key segment of the case is a 2017 Infowars broadcast that said Heslin holding his son didn’t happen. “What was said about me and Sandy Hook itself resonates around the world,” he said. “So I am going to keep my surviving son safe.” Many other parents of Sandy Hook victims allege they suffered the same abuse. “As time went on, I truly realized how dangerous it was.
The parents of 6-year-old Jesse Lewis are suing Jones for falsely claiming that the 2012 mass school shooting was a hoax meant to take away Americans' guns.
The lies from Jones and his team about the tragedy have compounded that pain, Lewis said. Jones was not present in the courtroom during Heslin’s testimony and was only present for a portion of Lewis’. Heslin called Jones’ absence “disrespectful” and “cowardly.” During or shortly after Heslin’s testimony, Jones appeared on Infowars and spoke about the plaintiff, using what one of Heslin’s lawyers described as “inflammatory” language. During the Sandy Hook shooting, he ran into the school hallway when he first heard shots, the family said in a legacy.com obituary. He said he was glad to have a chance to clear up what corporate media has gotten wrong in covering his comments about the Sandy Hook shooting. In the past year, Jones has lost all the defamation lawsuits filed by 10 families of Sandy Hook victims. Jones repeatedly claimed on Infowars, his Austin-based website and broadcast, that the mass shooting was a staged government conspiracy meant to take away Americans’ guns.
U.S. conspiracy theorist Alex Jones told a Texas jury on Tuesday that he never intended to hurt parents of a child killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre ...
It ended when Lanza killed himself with the approaching sound of police sirens. I didn’t know who you were until this came up." Jones has since acknowledged the shooting took place.
Neil Heslin, whose 6-year-old son was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in 2012, testified that he has endured online abuse, ...
You may click on “Your Choices” below to learn about and use cookie management tools to limit use of cookies when you visit NPR’s sites. If you click “Agree and Continue” below, you acknowledge that your cookie choices in those tools will be respected and that you otherwise agree to the use of cookies on NPR’s sites. NPR’s sites use cookies, similar tracking and storage technologies, and information about the device you use to access our sites (together, “cookies”) to enhance your viewing, listening and user experience, personalize content, personalize messages from NPR’s sponsors, provide social media features, and analyze NPR’s traffic.
Neil Heslin, whose son, six, died in 2012 attack, tells of online abuse and street harassment because of Infowars founder's false theory.
“What was said about me and Sandy Hook itself resonates around the world,” Heslin said. “My son existed ... I know you know that.” Heslin said Jones started the fight but he would finish it. I fear for my life, I fear for my safety.” Jones told reporters the case was a “witch hunt” and a “show trial” greater than those in “Nazi Germany”. His home and car had been shot at, he said.
The parents of a child who was murdered during the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting delivered emotional testimony in a Texas court on Tuesday, telling a jury that ...
Lubit told the court that Lewis and Heslin "are very, very frightened." Jones has lashed out at the judicial proceedings taking place, baselessly claiming last week that he was being tried in Texas before a "kangaroo court." But a hearing is scheduled on Wednesday in which W. Marc Schwartz, the chief restructuring officer for Free Speech Systems, is expected to testify. It seems absurd to instruct you again that you must tell the truth while you testify. "Mr. Jones, you may not say to this jury that you complied with discovery. Jones argued he simply had "tried to find out what actually happened." In a remarkable moment in court, Lewis directly spoke to Jones, who was in the courtroom after the trial broke for lunch. Fighting back tears at times, Heslin told the jury that Jones, through his conspiratorial media organization Infowars, "tarnished the honor and legacy" of his son. "It definitely negatively impacts the healing process." I fear for my safety and my family' safety and their life." Heslin called that absence "a cowardly act." The jury hearing the case will determine how much in damages Jones will have to pay the parents, Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, who won a default judgement against him earlier this year.
Often speaking directly to InfoWars host Alex Jones, the mother of a 6-year-old killed in the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School testified ...
Heslin says in the episode: “I held my son with a bullet hole through his head.” She said she has not felt safe and has had to keep a gun at her home for the sake of her surviving son. “The ripple effect is enormous because of the platform that you have. Judges in Texas and Connecticut have already issued default judgments against Jones, which found him liable for defamation for pushing the Sandy Hook hoax claim. “I don’t think you understand the fear you perpetuate, not just to the victim’s family but to our family, our friends and any survivor from that school.” The parents, both of whom testified Tuesday, have asked that Jones pay $150 million for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Infowars host Alex Jones faces $150 million in restitution to parents of students killed in the 2012 school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
In this first trial, set in Jones’ hometown of Austin, parents are seeking $150 million. Now he faces three jury trials to set how much he will owe in damages. On his controversial Infowars radio show Tuesday, Alex Jones described as “demonically possessed” the judge and legal team he’s facing in a trial this week to set the damages he owes to parents of students killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook elementary school massacre after already losing defamation trials.
The parents of a 6-year-old boy killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre say conspiracy theorist Alex Jones made their lives a “living hell” by ...
Last September, Guerra admonished Jones in her default judgment over his failure to turn over documents requested by the Sandy Hook families. To restore the honor and legacy of my son,” Heslin said when Jones wasn’t there. At stake in the trial is how much Jones will pay. Jones later took the stand himself, initially being combative with the judge, who had asked him to answer his own attorney's question. A key segment of the case is a 2017 Infowars broadcast that said Heslin didn’t hold his son. Plaintiff’s attorneys were furious about Jones mentioning he is bankrupt, which they worry will taint a jury decision about damages. to face Alex Jones for what he said and did to me. They described how Jesse was known for telling classmates to “run!” which likely saved lives. “It seems so incredible to me that we have to do this — that we have to implore you, to punish you — to get you to stop lying,” Lewis said. Heslin and Lewis both said they fear for their lives and have been confronted by strangers at home and on the street. Heslin said his home and car have been shot at. that I got to say all this to you.”
Alex Jones is facing a lawsuit tied to comments he made about the Sandy Hook school shooting, which claimed the lives of 20 children and six adults.
In total, nine families have sued Jones over the years. Jones also claimed that the victims of Sandy Hook and their parents are being used to diminish the First Amendment. The figure holds a deeper meaning according to the couple's lawyer. Jones’ conspiracy theories gained traction among far-right supporters, prompting some to harass the parents of the deceased children. Others, however, spread disinformation that the shooting was actually the work of shadowy players within the U.S. government using violence for political gain. The mass shooting renewed the national debate about the Second Amendment right to bear arms, with proponents of gun control advocating for tighter rules surrounding gun ownership while opponents of gun control advocated for more armed guards in schools to prevent further violence.
Scarlett Lewis, whose son Jesse, 6, was killed in the elementary school shooting, rebuked the Infowars fabulist over his lies in a face-to-face courtroom ...
Mr. Jones had told the jury he is “bankrupt,” even though his bankruptcy filing has yet to be adjudicated and the families’ lawyers say it is a tactic to avoid upcoming trials. Their lawyers hustled them away, and Mr. Jones exploded in anger, claiming the parents were being “controlled.” After watching Mr. Heslin’s testimony on a courtroom YouTube feed, he called the grieving father “slow,” and “manipulated by some very bad people.” He recalled his last moments with Jesse, saying, “I held my son with a bullet hole through his head.” Afterward, Mr. Jones and a sidekick, Owen Shroyer, implied on Infowars that Mr. Heslin was lying. When the gunman entered Jesse’s classroom, he shouted “Run!” during a pause in the shooting. This spring, he said, someone drove past his house and shouted “Alex Jones!” and he heard the sound of gunfire. Some of that is because of you.” Mr. Jones nervously shook his head. Mr. Jones, who has regularly berated the families on the air, has rarely appeared in the same room as them, even as he has been found liable in a series of defamation suits brought by the families of 10 victims. Mr. Jones has questioned the events at Sandy Hook, but “you know that’s not true,” she said, staring at him while he fidgeted at the defense table. The trial involving Ms. Lewis and Neil Heslin, Jesse’s father, is the first of three in which juries will decide how much Mr. Jones must pay for defaming the families. More important than money, Ms. Lewis said on Tuesday, “I hope to accomplish an era of truth.” Mr. Jones has mostly avoided showing up in court.
Bereaved parents of Jesse Lewis, 6, killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School, say Infowars host Alex Jones's conspiracy theories left them in anguish for ...
“It seems so incredible to me that we have to do this — that we have to implore you … to get you to stop lying,” Lewis said. “The internet had questions. I had questions.” “I know you know that. Lewis stressed that she was not part of any “deep state” conspiracy theory. Heslin, who took the stand before Jones arrived at the Travis County Courthouse in Austin on Tuesday, spoke of his grief — compounded with death threats and abuse from strangers that led the parents to fear for their own lives.
"I wanted to tell you to your face. ... Jesse was real. I am a real mom," Scarlett Lewis told Alex Jones. "...I know you know that, and that's the problem."
Heslin, who also testified on Tuesday, said that Jones made their lives a "living hell" filled with abuse and trauma from his followers. Truth is what we base our reality on and we have to agree on that to have a civil society. Last week, an article posted on the Infowars website details Jones' statement to the press following a hearing in which he said the judge of the case is only doing it "for political reasons." And I don't understand," Lewis told jones on Tuesday. "Truth – truth is so vital to our world. He repeatedly suggested that the mass shooting could have been a "staged event." Sitting at the witness stand and looking Jones straight in the eyes, Lewis said, "I wanted to tell you to your face.
The parents of a 6-year-old boy killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre say conspiracy theorist Alex Jones made their lives a “living hell” by ...
Last September, Guerra admonished Jones in her default judgment over his failure to turn over documents requested by the Sandy Hook families. To restore the honor and legacy of my son,” Heslin said when Jones wasn’t there. A key segment of the case is a 2017 Infowars broadcast that said Heslin didn’t hold his son. At stake in the trial is how much Jones will pay. Jones later took the stand himself, initially being combative with the judge, who had asked him to answer his own attorney's question. “It seems so incredible to me that we have to do this — that we have to implore you, to punish you — to get you to stop lying,” Lewis said. They described how Jesse was known for telling classmates to “run!” which likely saved lives. My son existed,” Lewis said to Jones. “I am not deep state ... I know you know that ... And yet you’re going to leave this courthouse and say it again on your show.” Heslin and Lewis both said they fear for their lives and have been confronted by strangers at home and on the street. Heslin said his home and car have been shot at. And grateful ... that I got to say all this to you.” In a gripping exchange, Lewis spoke directly to Jones, who was sitting about 10 feet away.
Jones testifies in defamation trial after being sued by parents of victims for $150m for pushing false 'crisis actors' theory.
He is the only person testifying in defense of himself and his media company, Free Speech Systems. You are under oath.” “It was … especially since I’ve met the parents.
Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones testified that he now understands it was irresponsible of him to declare the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre a hoax.
You may click on “Your Choices” below to learn about and use cookie management tools to limit use of cookies when you visit NPR’s sites. If you click “Agree and Continue” below, you acknowledge that your cookie choices in those tools will be respected and that you otherwise agree to the use of cookies on NPR’s sites. NPR’s sites use cookies, similar tracking and storage technologies, and information about the device you use to access our sites (together, “cookies”) to enhance your viewing, listening and user experience, personalize content, personalize messages from NPR’s sponsors, provide social media features, and analyze NPR’s traffic.
An attorney for the parents of a child killed in the Sandy Hook massacre showed a jury video on Wednesday of U.S. conspiracy theorist Alex Jones telling his ...
It ended when Lanza killed himself with the approaching sound of police sirens. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com
During a contentious cross-examination, Infowars host Alex Jones' claim that he was sucked into lying about the Sandy Hook shooting was undercut and he.
They are among several Sandy Hook families that have filed lawsuits against Jones arguing that his statements that the attack was a hoax have led to years of abuse from his followers. Jones is being sued by Scarlett Lewis and Neil Heslin, whose son Jesse was among the 20 children killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012. “It’s infinitely now.”
Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones testified Wednesday that he now understands it was irresponsible of him to declare the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre ...
Last September, the judge Maya Guerra Gamble admonished Jones in her default judgment over his failure to turn over documents requested by the Sandy Hook families. To restore the honour and legacy of my son," Heslin said when Jones wasn't there. A key segment of the case is a 2017 Infowars broadcast that said Heslin didn't hold his son. "What was said about me and Sandy Hook itself resonates around the world," Heslin said. They have been confronted by strangers at home and on the street, and Heslin said his home and car have been shot at. Jones is the only person testifying in his own defence.
The Infowars conspiracy theorist was presented with text messages from his own cellphone showing that he had withheld evidence in defamation lawsuits ...
Mr. Bankston, a lawyer for the Sandy Hook parents Scarlett Lewis and Neil Heslin, also revealed new evidence of Mr. Jones’s failure to produce court-ordered documents related to lies he spread about the mass shooting and its victims. In fact, his losses by default resulted from his failure to produce those materials. In another broadcast, Infowars falsely linked the judge to pedophilia; in another, Mr. Jones questioned the intelligence of the jurors in the case, implying that his political enemies had handpicked “blue-collar” people who were ill-equipped to decide what monetary damages he must pay Ms. Lewis and Mr. Heslin. In written questions submitted to Mr. Jones, jurors took immediate issue with that. In testimony on Tuesday and Wednesday morning, Mr. Jones continued to insist that he had complied with court orders to produce documents and testimony in the run-up to the defamation trials. Mr. Bankston also produced clips from Mr. Jones’s Infowars broadcast in which he aired a copy of a photograph of the judge in Ms. Lewis’s and Mr. Heslin’s case, Maya Guerra Gamble, engulfed in flames. The judge admonished Mr. Jones and his lawyer, F. Andino Reynal, after the Infowars fabulist lied about the matter under oath on Tuesday. The judge also chastised Mr. Jones for telling the jury that he was bankrupt when his bankruptcy filing last week had yet to be adjudicated; the families’ lawyers said it was his latest attempt to delay the upcoming damages trials. He also presented financial records that contradicted Mr. Jones’s claim that he was bankrupt and clips from his broadcasts maligning the judge and jury in the case. Mr. Jones lost those cases by default, after nearly four years of litigation in which he failed to produce documents and testimony ordered by courts in Texas and Connecticut. That set in motion three trials for damages; the one in Austin this week is the first. The text messages were significant because Mr. Jones had claimed for years that he had searched his phone for texts about the Sandy Hook cases and found none. AUSTIN, Texas — In a brutal cross-examination on Wednesday in the trial of the conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, a lawyer for Sandy Hook parents produced text messages from Mr. Jones’s cellphone showing that he had withheld key evidence in defamation lawsuits brought by the families for lies he had spread about the 2012 school shooting. The messages, which were apparently sent in error to the families’ lawyers by Mr. Jones’s counsel, revealed that he was also warned about posting a false report about the coronavirus by a staff member calling the potential fabrication “another Sandy Hook.” The Infowars conspiracy theorist was presented with text messages from his own cellphone showing that he had withheld evidence in defamation lawsuits brought by Sandy Hook families.