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Parents who lost their 6-year-old son in the Sandy Hook massacre confronted right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones in court Tuesday, saying his claims that the deadliest elementary school shooting of American history was a “giant hoax” created a “living.” hell” for them.
Scarlett Lewis and Neil Heslin, parents of Jesse Lewis, who was killed in the 2012 shooting in Newtown, Conn., are seeking $150 million in damages from the Infowars radio show and their media company in a defamation lawsuit .
Heslin, who took the stand before Jones arrived at the Travis County Courthouse in Austin on Tuesday, spoke of her grief, compounded by death threats and abuse from strangers that left parents fearing for their own lives “I can’t even begin to describe the last nine and a half years, the hell that I and others have had to endure because of the recklessness and negligence of Alex Jones,” Heslin told the jury.
Twenty-six people died in the shooting, 20 of them small children. Jones had told his audience that it was a “false flag” operation carried out by “crisis actors”.
“My son existed,” Jesse’s tearful mother said, turning her testimony toward Jones. “There are records of Jesse’s birth.”
Jurors in Austin, where Infowars is based, won’t hear evidence on defamation claims because Judge Maya Guerra Gamble entered a rare default judgment against Jones after she refused to turn over documents to the parents’ lawyers. Instead, the jury will determine how much Jones must pay in compensatory and punitive damages.
Infowars’ parent company, Free Speech Systems, filed for bankruptcy last week, according to Jones’ attorney, who said the company would not interfere with the defamation suit.
Alex Jones’ media company files for bankruptcy during the Sandy Hook trial
Lewis stressed that he was not part of any deep state conspiracy theory. “I know you know that. That’s the problem… and you keep saying it, why? For money?” she asked. Jones shook his head.
“It’s so unbelievable to me that we have to do this, that we have to beg you … to stop lying,” Lewis said. “I’m so glad this day is here. In fact, I’m relieved… that I have to tell you all this.”
Heslin stated that it was unclear whether the conspiracy theory had started with Jones, but said that it was Jones who “ignited the match and started the fire,” reaching millions with his Infowars platform.
A forensic psychologist who testified said Heslin and Lewis suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Jones has previously acknowledged that the shooting took place and blamed his false claims on “a form of psychosis.” He stated on Tuesday that he had been waiting to apologize and that his comments had been taken out of context.
“I never intentionally tried to hurt you. I didn’t even say your name until this came up in court; I didn’t know who you were until this came up,” Jones said. “The Internet had questions. It had questions.”
Lewis bluntly asked Jones during his testimony, “Do you think I’m an actor?”
He replied, “No, I don’t think you’re an actor.”
Jones, 48, has been banned from major social media platforms including Facebook, YouTube and Spotify for violating their hate speech policies. Judges in Connecticut and Texas have also found Jones liable for damages in lawsuits stemming from his false claims.
Jones described the legal proceedings as a “witch hunt” and a “show trial” in a tirade to reporters last month.
Timothy Bella contributed to this report.