Supreme Court rejects Alex Jones’ appeal of $1.4 billion defamation ruling in Sandy Hook shooting

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected an appeal by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and maintained a $1.4 billion judgment against him over his description of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting as a hoax orchestrated by crisis actors.

The Infowars host said the judge erred in holding him liable for defamation and infliction of emotional distress without holding a trial based on allegations made by relatives of victims of the shooting, which killed 20 first-graders and six teachers in Newtown, Connecticut.

He watches: A jury ordered conspiracy theorist Alex Jones to pay nearly $1 billion to the families of Sandy Hook

The justices did not comment on their order, which they issued without even asking the families of the Sandy Hook victims to respond to Jones’ appeal. He also filed a lawsuit against an FBI agent who responded to the shooting.

Jones filed for bankruptcy in late 2022, and his lawyers told the judges that “plaintiffs have no potential hope of collecting” the entire judgment.

He is separately appealing a $49 million judgment in a similar defamation lawsuit in Texas after he failed to turn over documents requested by the parents of another Sandy Hook victim.

In the Connecticut case, the judge issued a rare default judgment against Jones and his company in late 2021 over what she described as Jones’ repeated failure to adhere to court rulings and turn over certain evidence to Sandy Hook families. The judge impaneled a jury to determine how much Jones would owe.

The following year, a jury agreed to a $964 million verdict, and a judge later awarded another $473 million in punitive damages against Jones and Free Speech Systems, the parent company of Infowars, based in Austin, Texas.

In November, satirical news outlet The Onion was named the winning bidder in an auction to divest Infowars assets to help pay defamation judgments. But the bankruptcy judge rejected the auction results, citing problems with the process and The Onion’s bid.

The attempt to sell Infowars’ assets has moved to Texas state court in Austin. Jones is now appealing a recent court order appointing a receiver to liquidate the assets. Some of Jones’ personal property is also being sold as part of the bankruptcy case.