Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones has been ordered to pay nearly a billion {dollars} for claiming the Sandy Hook Elementary School bloodbath was a hoax.
Jones has been infamous for claiming the assault, one of many deadliest faculty shootings in US historical past, was staged by gun management activists utilizing actors – although he has since acknowledged it was actual.
But who precisely is Alex Jones and why is he notorious? Sky News takes a have a look at a number of the right-wing persona’s most controversial statements.
Who is Alex Jones?
Alex Jones, 48, is a right-wing conservative determine hailing from Austin in Texas.
After leaving highschool in 1993 he began working in cable TV, filling in for absent hosts, and have become identified for his conspiracy theories.
When a bomb went off in a terror assault in Oklahoma City in 1995, Jones claimed that the federal government was behind it.
“I understood there’s a kleptocracy working with psychopathic governments – clutches of evil that know the tricks of control,” he stated.
What is InfoWars?
In 1999 he co-founded an internet site known as InfoWars, which grew to become a well-liked on-line vacation spot for pretend information and conspiracy theories reportedly racking up 10 million month-to-month visits in 2017.
A fast have a look at the web site – which incorporates the tagline “There’s a war on for your mind!” – exhibits wild claims about COVID-19 and the conflict in Ukraine.
Earlier this 12 months the father or mother firm of InfoWars – Free Speech Systems LLC – filed for chapter as Jones confronted a lawsuit introduced by Sandy Hook households.
The transfer – described as “delaying the inevitable” by a lawyer representing households – put civil litigation on maintain whereas the corporate reorganises its funds.
What occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary School?
On 14 December, 2012, Adam Lanza shot and killed 20 college students and 6 academics in Newtown, Connecticut.
The tragedy led to an outpouring of grief at yet one more mass taking pictures in America, however regardless of the lives misplaced it has been extremely uncommon for US Congress to cooperate and cross gun management laws.
The Sandy Hook bloodbath is among the most threatening faculty shootings in US historical past.
What did Alex Jones say about Sandy Hook?
Jones has admitted calling Sandy Hook mother and father “crisis actors” on his present and saying the taking pictures was “phoney as a three-dollar bill”.
His exhibits had portrayed the Sandy Hook taking pictures as staged as a part of gun management efforts.
He additionally stated: “You’ve got parents laughing – “hahaha” – and then they walk over to the camera and go “boo hoo hoo,” and not just one but a bunch of parents doing this and then photos of kids that are still alive they said died?
“I imply, they suppose we’re so dumb”.
So far, courts in Texas and Connecticut have found Jones liable for defamation for his portrayal of the Sandy Hook shooting as a hoax.
His most recent court appearances have been in front of a jury in the Connecticut trial who were deciding how much he should pay.
During one of his trials, family members of the victims gave emotional testimony describing how they endured death threats, in-person harassment and abusive comments on social media. Some moved away to avoid the abuse.
Earlier this year a jury in Texas ordered Jones to pay $4.1m (£3.3m) in damages to the parents of a six-year-old boy who was killed at Sandy Hook.
What legal troubles has Alex Jones had?
As well as being sued by parents of Sandy Hook victims, Jones has a rather chequered history when it comes to legal troubles over things he has said.
In 2017 he apologised after promoting the “Pizzagate” pretend story {that a} Washington pizza restaurant was the locale of a kid intercourse abuse ring run by Hillary Clinton and her marketing campaign chairman, John Podesta, the Washington Post reported.
In 2018 he was served with a lawsuit over a automotive assault that killed anti-racist protester Heather Heyer on the notorious Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville.
He was accused of claiming that the assault was truly staged by the CIA in an effort to undermine President Donald Trump.
Source: information.sky.com”