Supreme Court Rejects Alex Jones’ Appeal
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court declined to hear conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ appeal, which also stayed a staggering $1.4 billion judgment against him. This judgment stems from his claims that the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was a hoax orchestrated by officials.
Jones contended that the judge made a mistake in ruling him liable for defamation and causing emotional distress without adequately considering the perspectives of the victims’ families from the tragic Newtown, Connecticut shooting that resulted in the deaths of 20 children and six educators.
The justices issued their decision without comment and did not seek input from the Sandy Hook families regarding Jones’ appeal. Notably, some FBI agents involved in the incident have also filed their own lawsuits.
Interestingly, Jones had filed for bankruptcy in late 2022, but his attorneys informed the judge that “plaintiffs have no hope of collecting the entire judgment.”
In addition, Jones is appealing a separate $49 million judgment in Texas related to another defamation case where he failed to produce requested documents from the parents of another Sandy Hook victim.
The Connecticut case saw a rare default judgment against Jones and his company in 2021 due to his non-compliance with court orders, specifically concerning evidence needed by the Sandy Hook families. This led a jury to determine the amount Jones had to pay.
The following year, the jury concluded with a $964 million verdict, and the judge later added $473 million in punitive damages against both Jones and Infowars’ parent company, Free Speech Systems, based in Austin, Texas.
In November, a satirical news outlet, The Onion, won a bid in an auction to liquidate Infowars’ assets to satisfy the defamation judgment. However, a bankruptcy judge later invalidated the auction results, citing issues with the bidding process and The Onion’s offer.
The liquidation efforts have since moved to the Texas state court in Austin. Moreover, Jones is appealing a recent court order that appointed a receiver to manage the liquidation of his assets. Additionally, some of his personal possessions are also being sold as part of the ongoing bankruptcy case.
