Jury Orders Alex Jones to Pay $45.2 Million in Sandy Hook Case
New York TimesDec 27, 2022
The Facts
On Fri., jurors in Texas ordered Infowars founder Alex Jones to pay $45.2M in punitive damages - on top of the $4.1M in compensatory damages ordered the prior day - for making false claims about the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. The comments have since been retracted.
The amount levied against Jones is far from the $150M that the plaintiffs sued for, but the jury is expected to deliberate on whether Jones owes any punitive damages in a separate, shorter trial on Friday.
The Spin
Left narrative
Jones is a notorious grifter who has spread damaging conspiracy theories for profit. He even later admitted that the Sandy Hook shooting actually happened and wasn't committed by "crisis actors." Justice has now put an end to his dangerous public platform.
Right narrative
While Jones' response to the tragic event may have been inappropriate and insensitive, Democrat law firms are weaponizing this case to tarnish his reputation and undermine the first Amendment. Their goal is clear: to prevent Americans from questioning the establishment.
Nerd narrative
There is a 1% chance that Alex Jones will ever hold high Federal office in the US before 2030, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
