Alex Jones is a man under siege. The conspiracy theorist is facing a defamation trial following what was termed as promoting a lie. On Thursday, he took a stand in Connecticut in an attempt to limit to reduce the amount he is supposed to pay in damages for claiming that the Sandy Hook massacre that happened in 2012 was a hoax.
The Sandy Hook massacre was a big tragedy in which six adults and 20 children were killed. Some of the family members of the victims of the shooting also appeared at Jones’ hearing to hear his testimony. The hearing was at Waterbury Superior Court, around 32 kilometers from the area of the shooting.
Lawyer Christopher Mattei played a video from the accused internet show, Infowars. In the video, Jones was on record referring to the parents of the deceased as “crisis actors.”
Last year, Jones had been directed by a judge to hand over some documents to lawyers. However, he failed to comply with the directive and was liable to pay damages to the plaintiff. The jury is now deliberating how much the conspiracy theorist and his company, Free Speech Systems, should pay the families. The payment is to be made for the emotional stress that the families have endured and for defamation.
The testimony was a very emotional one, and the families spoke of how they have received death threats, negative comments on online platforms, and even physical harassment.
While preparing for his court session, Jones spent almost a week in Connecticut. In a news conference he held outside the court on Wednesday, Jones was very critical of the court sessions.
He called the judge a “tyrant” and referred to the court proceedings as a “travesty of justice.” His words came back to haunt him as the attorneys began by querying him on whether he thought of Judge Barbara Bellis as a tyrant and if it is a word that he commonly used on people.
Speaking to reporters at lunch break, Jones lamented how he was unable to testify as “innocent.” Nonetheless, he added that some of the content concerning the Sandy Hook massacre was regrettable.
