Alex Jones' net worth

2022 - 8 - 4

Post cover — Image courtesy of "Reuters"

Mistrial denied as jury weighs damages against Alex Jones in ... (Reuters)

A Texas judge denied Alex Jones's motion for a mistrial on Thursday as jury deliberations resumed in a defamation case over the U.S. conspiracy theorist's ...

It ended when Lanza killed himself with the approaching sound of police sirens. The parents may now use the records as they wish. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com The verdict followed a two-week trial in Austin, Texas, where Jones's radio show and webcast Infowars are based. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com

The Alex Jones defamation trial: Courtroom antics and reality checks (Vox)

Alex Jones will pay for defaming Sandy Hook parents, but we might never get back what his lie cost us all.

Jones has known ties to the ringleaders of several militia groups and others involved in the Capitol invasion, and the committee subpoenaed Jones as early as November 2021 for his role in the action. “You and your company want the world to believe that this judge is rigging this court proceeding to make sure that a script, a literal script, is being followed,” Bankston stated at one point. Throughout the trial, a major theme was trying to pin Jones himself down to a functional version of reality. If it feels as though pundits have hung on every word of the defamation trial, that’s because they have: A host of journalists and law bloggers have been livetweeting the trial minute to minute, from the courtroom and while following the courtroom livestream. This led to a bombshell courtroom reveal from the plaintiffs’ lawyer, Mark Bankston, on Wednesday, the final day of arguments in the case. He also filed for bankruptcy in April, despite making as much as $50 million annually, in a clear attempt to delay financial judgment in one of the other lawsuits. The case’s shocking revelations, which now include a potential link to January 6, 2021, are reminders that the kind of zealous paranoid thinking Jones encourages can have dangerous and unintended consequences. A total of 10 families eventually sued Jones beginning in 2018, bringing two suits in Texas, where Jones runs Infowars, and one in Connecticut, where the shooting occurred. A major courtroom bombshell on the last day of testimony in which Jones’s lawyer accidentally handed over the entire contents of his phone to the prosecution, revealing the extent of Jones’s deception — a snafu that also inadvertently tipped off the House January 6 committee. Jones has spent years fighting his way to the courtroom. As a result of the claims, Infowars fans harassed, stalked, and threatened the families for years, pushing some into hiding. That’s far less than the $150 million they were seeking; a jury decision on whether to award the family punitive damages, which may be based on Jones’s overall net worth, is still pending.

Alex Jones, his company net worth up to $270 million: testimony (INSIDER)

"He is a very successful man," forensic economist Bernard Pettingill said of Jones. Sandy Hook parents who sued Jones over his false "hoax" claims about the ...

Pettingill testified that Jones "promulgated some hate speech and some misinformation, but he made a lot of money and he monetized that." "He didn't ride a wave, he created the wave," Pettingill told the court, explaining that he believes Jones is a "revolutionary." "As much of a maverick that he is, as much of an outsider that he is, he is a very successful man," Pettingill said of Jones as he likened the broadcaster to 13th century Mongolian warrior Genghis Khan.

Alex Jones' net worth to be examined in Sandy Hook trial (Danbury News Times)

A Texas jury awarded Sandy Hook parents Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis $4.1 million, but now they must consider punitive damages for Infowars' Alex Jones.

“What I did to those families was wrong, but I didn’t do it on purpose,” Jones said before giving his audience a pitch to send money to keep Infowars on the air. “What a way to honor Jesse,” Bankston said. Both later took the stand to give heart-wrenching testimony about Jesse and his last hours before he was killed by a lone gunman with 19 of his classmates and six educators. The 12-member jury also had to decide how much Heslin and Lewis should receive for the intentional infliction of mental anguish that spanned from 2013 to 2018. Jones arrived at the beginning of the day but left after roughly 10 minutes of testimony and had not returned by early afternoon. “He shouldn’t have done it, he explained to why it happened.” That award would send a message not only to Jones but to other’s like him who promote conspiracy theories, Ball said. “He is the company.” Pellingill did not have access to financial records that Jones was supposed to file as part of the lawsuit. He also didn’t suffer any financial loses since being “deplatformed” — barred from several social media companies in 2018 for hate speech. Free Speech Systems is a private company, not publicly traded, so Jones does not have to submit paperwork to the state of Texas, he said. The jury must agree unanimously what the amount of damages will be, the judge said.

Alex Jones Trial Live Updates: Jury to Consider Punitive Damages (The New York Times)

One expert lays out evidence that Mr. Jones tried to hide his wealth with personal loans and shell companies. Jurors will use the testimony to determine ...

Among those who marched alongside him to the Capitol was Ali Alexander, a promoter of the “Stop the Steal” effort who has also been issued a subpoena. Mr. Jones said in his bankruptcy filing that he had paid $15 million so far in legal costs for the Sandy Hook litigation. Under Texas law, a person can be charged with perjury, a misdemeanor, if he makes a false statement under oath, or if, while under oath, he swears to the truth of a statement previously made, with a clear understanding of the statement and the intent to deceive. He called the motion “frivolous.” (He also clarified that the link to the records had been sent by Mr. Reynal’s legal assistant.) At a hearing on the motion, Mr. Reynal also called for a mistrial, based on Mr. Bankston’s use of the cellphone records. When we met for the interview, Mr. Jones was holding a printout of a story I had written. Wes Ball, a lawyer for the family, rises for a final statement to the jurors. Ball added: “With your voice in this trial, you have the ability to send a message for everyone in this country and perhaps this world to hear. We ask that you send a very very simple message and that is: Stop Alex Jones. Stop the monetization of misinformation and lies. On Friday, Wesley Todd Ball, a lawyer for the family, told the jury that they had “the ability to send a message for everyone in this country and perhaps this world to hear. The jurors have left the courtroom to decide on the amount of punitive damages, if any, that Jones must pay Lewis and Heslin for defaming them with his Infowars broadcasts denying the truth of the shooting and implying on his show that Heslin was lying when he spoke publicly about cradling his son’s body after the shooting. Lawyers for the families criticized the move as another attempt by Mr. Jones to shield his wealth and evade judgment.

Economist: Alex Jones, his company worth up to $270 million (KEYC)

Jones still faces two other defamation lawsuits from Sandy Hook families in Texas and Connecticut that put his personal wealth and media empire in jeopardy.

But Heslin and Lewis told jurors that an apology wouldn’t suffice and called on them to make Jones pay for the years of suffering he has put them and other Sandy Hook families through. They said the threats and harassment were all fueled by Jones and his conspiracy theory spread to his followers via his website Infowars. His erratic behavior is unusual by courtroom standards, and the judge has scolded him, telling him at one point: “This is not your show.” Bankston later said he planned to comply with the committee’s request. The same jury ordered Jones to pay Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis $4.1 million in compensation for defamation. “You are asked to punish Alex Jones,” Ball said. Jones called it a record sales day. The committee first subpoenaed Jones in November, demanding a deposition and documents related to his efforts to spread misinformation about the 2020 election and a rally on the day of the attack. “He’s got money put in a bank account somewhere.” “You’ve already sent a message. Lawyers for the family suing Jones contend that Jones has tried to hide evidence of his true wealth and have sued him claiming he’s tried to hide money in various shell companies. A message for the first time to a talk show host, to all talk show hosts, that their standard of care has to change,” Reynal said.

Alex Jones Ordered To Pay $4.1 Million To Parents Of Sandy Hook ... (Forbes)

The parents had asked a jury to award them $150 million in damages, after Jones claimed the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting was a hoax.

Bankston accused Jones of perjury, presenting numerous texts and emails on Jones’ phone in which he mentioned Sandy Hook, after Jones testified under oath that he could not find any texts mentioning Sandy Hook and asserted that he does not use email. The trial was considered a model for how other cases against Jones might proceed—a Connecticut judge has held Jones liable in a similar defamation case brought by other families. Jones acknowledged during the trial that he believes the Sandy Hook massacre that left 20 children and six school staffers dead is “100% real,” after long promoting conspiracy theories on his radio show suggesting the shooting was a hoax, comments the parents said have caused years of distress.