Well-known US conspiracy theorist Alex Jones has repeatedly claimed that the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in December 2012 was staged. However, that is not the only conspiracy he spreads among his followers. He has now been sentenced to pay damages of over $49 million.

Sandy Hook massacre

Then 20-year-old Adam Lanza killed his mother in the early hours of December 14, 2012 and made his way to Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, with the weapons registered in her name. There he ended the lives of a total of 27 people within a few minutes. 20 children between five and seven years old, six teachers and finally his own.

After the right-wing extremist and probably best-known conspiracy theorist and radio host in the USA, Alex Jones, repeatedly claimed that this horrific massacre was only staged and that the grieving parents were just good actors, he was then attacked by the parents of 6-year-old Jesse, who who fell victim to the gunman, was sued for defamation and spreading falsehoods.

The conspiracy theory spread by Alex Jones resulted in the victim's families being harassed, attacked and even faced death threats by his followers for years.  

$49 million in compensation

The court in Texas ruled on Friday that the US conspiracy teller must pay the affected family compensation of more than $49 million. The judgment is a so-called punitive damages award. This means that this is significantly higher than the actual damages, which he was sentenced to pay a day earlier at $4.11 million.

Two more trials against Jones are scheduled for next month by other parents whose children were victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. However, since Jones' company has filed for bankruptcy, this could be postponed. Jones, meanwhile, is encouraging his fans to buy more merchandise to help offset the financial consequences of the ruling.

(No) trace of regret?

According to his own statements, he put this theory into the world and spread it so that stricter gun controls could be more easily implemented by politicians. During the trial, he admitted that the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was "100 percent real."

It remains to be doubted whether he actually means what he says. After all, he made insulting comments about the process in his shop during the trial. In any case, Jones's findings are not enough of an excuse for the victims' families.

You may know Alex Jones from stories like...

...Like the allegation that the US government was involved in the attacks of September 11, 2001. Through his podcast and website, Jones never missed an opportunity to spread or fuel conspiracy myths about possible child porn rings in pizzerias or that Barack Obama forged his birth certificate.

Alex Jones' legal team made a fatal mistake when they accidentally forwarded content from the defendant's cell phone to the plaintiff. It contains a total of over two years of partly incriminating material regarding the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

The responsible investigative committee will now deal with this material.

You might also be interested in : “ The January 6th hearing: Trump planned the attack on the Capitol – charges are likely

Sources : Süddeutsche Zeitung , Tagesschau , derStandard: Parents sue US conspiracy theorist Alex Jones for lying about school massacres” , US conspiracy teller Alex Jones has to pay Sandy Hook survivors millions ”, “ US conspiracy teller Alex Jones has to pay another 45.2 million Pay dollars in damages


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