WASHINGTON (AP) — supreme court On Tuesday, he rejected an appeal from conspiracy theorists. alex jones and left there $1.4 billion verdict He was criticized for describing the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting as a hoax orchestrated by emergency managers.
The Infowars host argued that the judge made a mistake in finding him liable for defamation and infliction of emotional distress without holding a trial on the charges filed by the victim’s relatives. shooting20 first grade students and six educators were murdered in Newtown, Connecticut.
The justices did not comment on the order, which they issued without even asking the families of the Sandy Hook victims to respond to Jones’ appeal. FBI agents who responded to the shooting also filed suit.
jones filed for bankruptcy A verdict is expected in late 2022, and his lawyer told the judge that “there is no hope that the plaintiff will collect the full amount of the judgment.”
he has filed a separate appeal $49 million judgment A similar defamation lawsuit was filed in Texas after the parents of another Sandy Hook victim failed to provide documents requested.
In the Connecticut case, the judge handed down a rare default judgment It filed a lawsuit against Jones and his company in late 2021, alleging that Jones failed to comply with court rulings and turn over certain evidence to the Sandy Hook family. The judge convened a jury to decide how much Jones should pay.
The following year, the jury agreed that $964 million verdict The judge then awarded an additional $473 million in punitive damages to Jones and Infowars’ Austin, Texas-based parent company Free Speech Systems.
In November, satirical news organizations onion Named the winning bidder in an auction to liquidate Infowars’ assets to help pay a defamation judgment. However, the bankruptcy judge Auction results were discardedand argued that there were problems with the process and the Onion’s bid.
The attempt to sell Infowars’ assets has moved to Texas state court in Austin. Mr. Jones is currently appealing the court’s recent order. appointed a beneficiary liquidating assets; Some of Mr. Jones’ personal property is also being sold as part of the bankruptcy case.
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