A jury finds Infowars conspiracy theorist Alex Jones must pay $45.2 million in punitive damages

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: CNN Business

New York (CNN Business)A Texas jury has decided to penalize Alex Jones with $45.2 million in punitive damages in a lawsuit filed by the parents of Sandy Hook shooting victim Jesse Lewis. The award, which the judge could reduce, came one day after the jury settled on $4.1 million in compensatory damages.

The jurors began deliberating around 12:30 pm CT on Friday, after Judge Maya Guerra Gamble reminded them that in a default judgment against him Jones was already found liable for defamation and "intentional infliction of emotional distress" against Lewis' parents, Scarlett Lewis and Neil Heslin. In an emotional closing argument Friday, Lewis and Heslin's attorney Wesley Todd Ball said to the jury, "We ask that you send a very very simple message, and that is, stop Alex Jones. Stop the monetization of misinformation and lies. Please."

Ball urged the jurors to "deter Alex Jones from ever doing this awfulness again" and "to deter others who may want to step into his shoes." Jones' attorney, Federico Andino Reynal, argued for a far lower sum, suggesting that the jurors should multiply Jones' purported earnings per hour of $14,000 and the 18 hours that he said Jones talked about Sandy Hook on Infowars, for a sum of around a quarter million dollars. On Thursday, in the first phase of the trial, the jury awarded the parents $4.1 million in compensatory damages, a far smaller amount than the $150 million the parents' attorneys had sought.

In his closing argument, Ball thanked the jury for their decision to award the $4.1 million, saying it had already made a huge difference in the parents' lives, and asked them to award enough in punitive damages to bring the total to $150 million. Punitive damages are a form of punishment for a defendant's behavior. Jones, the head of the conspiratorial media outlet Infowars, repeatedly lied about the Sandy Hook massacre. He stoked conspiracy theories about the victims and their families, prompting multiple defamation lawsuits. He has since acknowledged that the mass shooting occurred.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/05/media/alex-jones-punitive-damages-sandy-hook

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Full headline: A jury finds Infowars conspiracy theorist Alex Jones must pay $45.2 million in punitive damages to the parents of a Sandy Hook shooting victim

[StarryNite]

1. WooHoo!

Now that's what I'm talkin' about!

[Dustlawyer]

58. Let's hope the all Republican Texas Supreme Court doesn't take it all away.

They love to do that on big plaintiff verdicts against corporations. They like to find technicalities to remand the case back to the trial courts for a do over.

[mcar]

2. That's gonna hurt

Specially considering there are many other trials looming.

I hope this dirtbag ends up with nothing but the shirt on his back and a bag full of his snakeoil.

[The Grand Illuminist]

38. Unless there are pro Jones financial benefactors

These types are known to be elusive.

[Richard D]

48. There are . . .

. . . one gave the scum 8 million in bitcoins.

[Random Boomer]

59. That's really funny, actually

If you know anything about bitcoins, it's not as generous a gift as you might supposed. That "$8 million" is only a number until you find someone to pay real money for your bitcoins, and that's getting harder every day.

[Aviation Pro]

3. Reduce this blimp to shaking a tin cup on a street corner

This was the linchpin to taking down the whole fetid right-wing noise machine.

[Blue Owl]

37. He and Bannon can share a cardboard box and some soiled newspapers

[COL Mustard]

57. Which one would stink worse?

[SheltieLover]

4. Excellent! 👏👏👏👏

[Baitball Blogger]

5. I hope that everyone who supported him is learning that there's a cost to

defamation and disinformation. Being a bully isn't as glamorous as they think it is.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

6. Texas tort reform wlll cap punitive at $1.5 million

Jones has already paid Mark Bankston's firm over $1.5 million in sanctions and I bet there will be more sanctions added to that total

Jones and Roger Stone are fundraising

Link to tweet

[James48]

13. It's a start.

Luckily / unluckily, there are multiple other cases pending.

[pnwmom]

15. Do you have a link explaining your claim that the award will be limited to $1.5 million? n/t

[TomSlick]

25. Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, Section Sec. 41.008(b)

(b) Exemplary damages awarded against a defendant may not exceed an amount equal to the greater of:

(1)(A) two times the amount of economic damages; plus

(B) an amount equal to any noneconomic damages found by the jury, not to exceed $750,000; or

(2) $200,000.

The math depends on what part of the 4.1 million dollar compensatory verdict was for "economic" versus "noneconomic" damages.

[Turbineguy]

23. When Roger Stone

calls you a "good and decent man", you know you are scum among scum.

[calimary]

31. Now THERE'S an understatement for the ages!

[usaf-vet]

42. A middle finger to you Roger Stone and the lying a$$hole Alex Jones. Decent man what a LOL.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

52. I hope you're right about the limit. That way, there'll be enough ...

... for the rest of the parents of the dead and wounded kids.

It makes no sense to me that the first parents to sue get the lion's share of the money.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

61. Plaintiffs are going to challenge cap on punitive damages

the cap may be per cause of action

Link to tweet

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

62. Of course they will. That one couple, and their lawyer, want the max.

It's not their job to be concerned about a fare share for the parents of other slain and injured children. Their lawyer should only be concerned with his clients.

[rurallib]

7. is there any other parents still suing Jones in similar lawsuits?

[grantcart]

14. I believe there are 2 more suits pending

[Rhiannon12866]

8. K&R! Hoping this shuts him down and shuts him up!

[onetexan]

9. hope it shutters Infowars too

[JohnnyRingo]

10. Hannity, you're next.

Back in the days of Bill O'Reilly I predicted that one of those Fox ghouls or talk radio loudmouths were going to hurt or get someone killed, and the lawsuits that follow will change the voice of outrageous broadcasting.

This is a start.

[certainot]

60. the radio blowhards have been selling 'replacement theory' for years to push voter suppression legis

lotion.

that might include the blowhards who the buffalo shooter listened to

would the limbaugh estate or the media companies that kept him on be liable for his lying?

he led the anti immigration bullshit for 2 decades.

in 2009 he was provably the major driver for the "climategate" hoax that derailed obama at copenhagen and is still used by RW idiots like trump. the russians did the hack and within a few days he wa ready to do a whole week of broadcasting on it, and unusual concentration for him. it did not get traction in the mainstream until after a few days of regular gumming and screaming by him. maybe he was getting paid for it.

[Lonestarblue]

11. Maybe this will force some of the Jones copycat hate radio shock jocks to stop some of their lies.

That anyone still supports this man is ludicrous—says a lot about Roger Stone that he’s fund raising for this piece of excrement.

[Mr. Evil]

12. As this award makes me somewhat happy,

they should've lowered the boom on him with an award of $200m. They should've made sure he'd have to empty all his accounts and have to liquidate all assets to comply. In other words, put him out of business. He is nothing more than another shitbag taking advantage of people's gullibility (that's another issue in this country) by constantly selling anger and fear. The Joseph Goebbels propaganda playbook is alive and well in this country and it must be squashed once and for all. We need to hit him and everyone like him as hard as possible.

[H2O Man]

17. I think that

it has been reported that the jury is aware that there are other cases pending against Jones, and that perhaps they favored leaving some for the other parents suing.

[Mr. Evil]

19. OK

That works for me! Bury that bastard!

[H2O Man]

22. Yes!

I thought the plaintiffs' legal team not only did good by their clients, but by the country by exposing what a dangerous toxin he is.

[calimary]

32. I'd want it to be $200 million -

PER VICTIM whose plight he repeatedly denied - with a VERY loud public microphone.

If I had my way, whatever broadcast/cable/internet outlet that carried his "program" would get the same penalty. Only to be mitigated WHEN they cancel him or otherwise permanently take him off the air. To be REIMPOSED if the carrier waits around for awhile thinking people will forget and they can give him a comeback.

He won't shut up. He stirs shit up. That's his reason for being. That's his "thing." He's a vile, disgusting, opportunistic provocateur. Maybe he won't target Sandy Hook anymore, but there WILL be another one, AND another one after that, AND another one after that, as long as he can get in front of a microphone. That's just who he is. And THAT'S what needs to be stopped.

[Tumbulu]

63. Agree !!!!!!!

[LudwigPastorius]

65. Jones is benefitting from years of Texas businesses buying "tort reform" from their state Reps.

I'm hopeful that more and more Sandy Hook parents will sue him, making for a meaningful amount of economic damage.

I'm afraid that, ultimately, Jones is like one of those TV evangelists who lose their empires due to personal scandal, he'll be back spewing his insanity and rolling in money again soon enough because there's no end to the number of gullible fools out there.

[Initech]

16. Excellent!

Let's take this treasonous rat bastard down!

[Evolve Dammit]

18. Is the judgement against Jones or his LLC?

[Old Crow]

20. Couldn't happen to a nicer blowhard.

If I were to write here what I really think of Alex Jones, and what fate I hope awaits him, I'd probably be visited by law enforcement. Let it suffice to say, I hate the man.

[catbyte]

21. This could be the reason the jury awarded $44M and not the $150M requested

Link to tweet

[William769]

24. It's about damn time. Hit him where it hurts!

I hope it hurts him till the day he dies.

[OnlinePoker]

26. Can you avoid payment by declaring bankruptcy?

Or are court awards exempt from bankruptcy proceedings?

[BumRushDaShow]

30. The first time he had his company attempt to declare bankrupty

a court pooh-poohed it and then DOJ started making waves -

InfoWars to Dismiss Bankruptcy After Deal With DOJ Watchdog (1)
June 2, 2022, 4:08 PM; Updated: June 2, 2022, 5:08 PM

InfoWars and two affiliates tied to right-wing radio host Alex Jones struck a deal with the Justice Department to dismiss their bankruptcy cases pending in Texas.

Jones was criticized for abusing the bankruptcy system by having his companies file for bankruptcy in April to limit their liability after a defamation judgment against him and InfoWars for making false statements about the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Jones and his main company with assets, Free Speech Systems LLC, didn’t file for bankruptcy.

The bankrupt companies’ chief restructuring officer “determined that it is in the best interest of the debtors’ estates and their creditors not to continue the Chapter 11 cases in light of the dismissal with prejudice of the Debtors from the lawsuits against them by the Texas and Connecticut plaintiffs,” according to the stipulationfiled Wednesday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.

The stipulation was signed by the debtors, a trustee overseeing the case, and the U.S. Trustee, which is the Justice Department’s bankruptcy watchdog. After Jones sought bankruptcy for his companies, the Sandy Hook victim families who sued him in Connecticut and Texas for defamation responded by dismissing his three bankrupt companies from their lawsuits.

(snip)

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/bankruptcy-law/infowars-to-dismiss-bankruptcy-after-deal-with-justice-department

But then he recently came back to have the parent company of InfoWars (going up one level) "Free Speech Systems LLC", file and that is being contested -

August 3, 2022
8:37 PM EDT
Last Updated 2 days ago

Sandy Hook parents seek to stop InfoWars bankruptcy payments to Alex Jones
By Dietrich Knauth



Aug 3 (Reuters) - Parents of children killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook school massacre urged a U.S. bankruptcy judge on Wednesday not to allow the parent company of far-right website InfoWars to send any money to its founder, conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, or his companies until they have an opportunity to get to the bottom of InfoWars' finances.

As a jury deliberates in Austin, Texas, over how much Jones must pay two parents for his false claims that the deadly shooting was a hoax, families of Sandy Hook victims who have sued Jones for defamation in that trial and others who have sued in Connecticut warned a bankruptcy judge in Houston that Jones might continue to pull assets from InfoWars parent company Free Speech Systems LLC while using its bankruptcy case to avoid paying court judgments in the defamation cases.

Marty Brimmage, an attorney for the Sandy Hook parents, told U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez in Houston on Wednesday that Jones had told his audience that the bankruptcy would "tie up" any defamation judgment for years.

(snip)

https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/sandy-hook-parents-seek-stop-infowars-bankruptcy-payments-alex-jones-2022-08-03/

So don't know how this is going to work out (or even whether he attempts to final personal bankruptcy for himself).

[Xipe Totec]

27. monetization of misinformation - should be a federal felony. nt

[calimary]

55. THIS!

Fucking bastard!

He’s caused so much pain and suffering g and outright agony towards his victims - who he deliberately targeted, for his own fame, power, and profit. And repeatedly and relentlessly.

I don’t think you get to go to Heaven when you die, if you’ve done shit like that…

[pansypoo53219]

28. now get Q.

[live love laugh]

46. ✔️... and Faux ... and the NRA ...

[erronis]

29. now get the rest of the RW/libertarian/plutocrats/assholes who funded this bloated tick

If possible prosecute those that funded these types of anti-social, anti-democratic movements. Follow the money and hit them hard.

[Rhiannon12866]

33. +1000!

[EndlessWire]

34. I doubt this will happen

but Jones exposed himself to perjury charges. It's all on the record now. Fines and jail time would be nice. C'mon, someone make the complaint.

I watched the YouTube video of the Plaintiffs attorney making his closing argument. He said Jones lied like breathing. Hah! And, although he is immune through trial rules, I think, Jones also defamed the father by saying that the father was slow and somewhere on the spectrum. He did this on his show while the bereaved father was testifying in court. So, further defamation during the trial for defamation.

I'm glad they got as much as was possible. I think if they got the cap, it was good. They lost their son, and then went through another kind of hell, just so Jones could make money off of their kid's death.

[Jarqui]

35. I hope this sends a message

but I somehow doubt it.
Ditto for the other cases.

In some dark back room, a bunch of sinister lawyers are plotting what they can get away with in the future.

Alex Jones proved one can make $270 million or more spewing BS.
This case proved he went too far.
The scumbags still smell the money.
They'll adjust their protocol and carry on.

[Kablooie]

36. Now that's beginning to be something!

And he's got three more of these trials to go through too!

Finally one of the jerks is beginning to pay.

Can he appeal? These assholes always seem to always have another appeal available to delay paying indefinitely.

What if he just refuses to pay?
What can the parents do?


Of course he'll claim his first amendment rights were violated. He's free to say whatever he wants.
But of course he was free to say that crap but there's nothing in the constitution about not suffering consequences for what you say.

[The Grand Illuminist]

39. I believe, but could be wrong..

A little over 80% of finalized civil cases overall have yet to see payment in full. Oj Simpson, for example, paid some to the Goldmans, but they have yet to get the rest.

[Layzeebeaver]

67. Sadly his testicles were not part of the deal.

...removed and placed in a specimen jar that is.

[Iris]

40. Suck it, Alex

[oasis]

41. Shut the hell up and pay up!!

[SKKY]

43. This is big because it sets the baseline...

...for the next 3 or 4 trials he has slated for basically the same thing. He fucked around. And he found out.

[YoshidaYui]

44. So 50 million

With maybe more to come from other Sandy Hook parents who lost a child. Break Him! Make his network pay so heavy that they can’t even keep the lights on.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

45. Plaintiffs are going to challenge cap on punitive damages

Link to tweet

[ZZenith]

47. Jesus. That little chest slap they gave each other at the end...

Righteous dudes celebrating a righteous act is a righteous thing to witness.

[stevil]

69. That made me smile.

TY

[twodogsbarking]

49. Enjoy this everyone. More to come.

[Bengus81]

50. Now...charge his fat ASS with perjury. They have him nailed on that too

[E. Normus]

51. not a win, yet

This may seem like a win, but it will not put him out of business or in jail. Hopefully, other pending and soon to be coming lawsuits such as perjury and hiding of assets from bankruptcy will end his sleazy way of making money.

[marble falls]

53. This is just the first two cases. There's more to come.

[Littlered]

54. That is good to know.

If anyone deserves it, it’s him.

[COL Mustard]

56. I hope they get everything he owns, everything he ever COULD own, and put liens on any possible

Future assets he could have. This one suit isn't enough. I would love to see him penniless, living under a bridge and fighting rats for scraps of food. I can't say how much I despise him...it isn't healthy for me and I want to break my computer thinking about what he did.

*********Calming breaths now***********


All better!

[broiles]

64. I think the cap in Texas is 750k.

[LudwigPastorius]

66. Alex Jones is a swollen, raging rhinoceros scrotum in a pair of Florsheim's.

[SouthernDem4ever]

68. +1

[ck4829]

70. K&R