Beyond the 806
Court slashes $50M judgment against Infowars' Alex Jones over falsely calling school shooting a hoax - AP News
A Texas appeals court slashed a $50 million defamation judgment against Infowars founder Alex Jones down to $1.5 million Friday, a major legal win for Jones stemming from his false claims that the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting was a hoax. The Texas Third Court of Appeals ruled unanimously that Sandy Hook parents Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis did not show sufficient evidence to support the original $50 million award.
The Texas Third Court of Appeals ruled unanimously that Sandy Hook parents Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis did not show sufficient evidence to support the original $50 million award. Jones and his company, Free Speech Systems, had already been found liable for damages after claiming the mass shooting never happened, so the ruling changes the dollar amount owed, not the underlying finding of guilt.
The decision does not touch the separate $1.4 billion judgment against Jones in Connecticut, which remains intact. For the parents of Sandy Hook victims, this Texas ruling means a fraction of what a jury once decided they were owed will actually be collectible from this case. For Jones, it represents a dramatic reduction in financial exposure on the Texas front of what has been years of litigation.
Sandy Hook happened in Newtown, Connecticut, in December 2012, when 20 children and six adults were killed. Jones spent years telling his audience the massacre was staged, a claim courts have now repeatedly rejected as false.
The gap between $50 million and $1.5 million is 97 percent.
Common questions
Why did the Texas court reduce the $50 million judgment against Alex Jones?
- The Texas Third Court of Appeals ruled unanimously that Sandy Hook parents Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis did not present sufficient evidence to support the original $50 million award. Jones was still found liable for defamation - only the dollar amount changed, not the underlying guilty finding.
Does this ruling affect the $1.4 billion judgment against Alex Jones in Connecticut?
- No. The Texas appeals court ruling only applies to the Texas case. The separate $1.4 billion defamation judgment against Jones in Connecticut was not touched by this decision and remains fully intact.
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