Alex Jones trial: Jury resumes deliberation in Infowars host’s second Sandy Hook hoax case
Infowars #Infowars
The jury in Alex Jones’ second defamation damages trial over his lies about the Sandy Hook massacre resumed their deliberations on Tuesday.
Around an hour into their second full day of discussions, jurors asked for help interpreting a sentence in their instructions on how they should determine damages.
In response, Judge Barbara Bellis advised them to consider the lengthy instructions as a whole.
Jurors have thus far spent about 11 hours weighing how much the Infowars host owes in damages to 15 plaintiffs – including loved ones of victims killed in the 2012 shooting and a former FBI agent who responded to the scene.
In closing arguments last week, plaintiffs’ attorneys urged jurors to consider the enormous profits Jones had made from spreading conspiracy theories about the mass shooting when determining how much he should pay.
“Every single one of these families were drowning in grief, and Alex Jones put his foot right on top of them,” attorney Christopher Mattei said.
He suggested a damages award of at least $550m, as Jones and Infowars had received an estimated 550 million views from their Sandy Hook hoax content on social media accounts from 2012 to 2018.
Alex Jones jury watch
Jones a ‘mad prophet’, attorney claims
Key moments from the trial
Sandy Hook father says he felt like he ‘failed’ his slain daughter
Sandy Hook and 9/11 were ‘best two days’ of Jones’s life
Welcome back to The Independent’s live coverage as deliberation resumes
13:56 , Megan Sheets
The jury is set to reconvene for its second full day of deliberation on Tuesday at 9.30am.
The process began briefly on Thursday afternoon following closing arguments, with jurors spending just under an hour in the deliberation room.
They then spent roughly six hours on Friday weighing how much Jones should pay in damages, but did not reach an agreement.
Jurors had asked the court for a whiteboard, markers, an eraser and a copy of the 30-page jury charge, which took several hours for the court to produce.
Story continues
It is impossible to say how long the process could take from here.
WATCH: Key moments from Alex Jones’ defamation trial
14:20 , Bevan Hurley
A jury in Connecticut will resume deliberations this morning to decide how much Alex Jones must pay in damages for defaming family members of Sandy Hook victims.
Here is a video recap of the key moments from the trial so far.
Key moments from Alex Jones defamation trial
ICYMI: Jones’ attorney likens him to Atwood and Orwell
14:30 , Bevan Hurley
In closing arguments, Norm Pattis claimed Alex Jones was a “mad prophet” while comparing him to literary greats Margaret Atwood and George Orwell.
Full story below.
Alex Jones’ lawyer compares him to The Handmaid’s Tale author Margaret Atwood
ICYMI: Sandy Hook father says he felt like he ‘failed’ his slain daughter
14:45 , Bevan Hurley
Choking back tears, Robbie Parker testified that he believed he was “failing” six-year-old Emilie’s memory as Alex Jones lies continued to spread lies about her.
Emilie was one of the 26 students and staff members murdered in the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School on 14 December 2012.
One day after the massacre, the devastated father gave a brief speech to the media where he paid tribute to his little girl who “made the world a better place” for being in it.
Unbeknownst to Mr Parker at the time, it was the first time any of the victims’ family members had spoken out publicly following their deaths.
He became a target forMr Jones and his Infowars followers’ campaign of harassment and intimidation.
Rachel Sharp has the story.
Sandy Hook father says Alex Jones lies made him feel like he ‘failed’ his daughter
ICYMI: Alex Jones says he’s ‘done apologising’
14:55 , Bevan Hurley
The courtroom in Connecticut descended into chaos on 23 September as the far-right conspiracy theorist took the stand in his defamation case and refused to acknowledge any responsibility for causing a decade of harassment to the victims’ families.
“I’ve already said I’m sorry hundreds of times. And I’m done saying sorry,” he shouted across the courtroom.
Mr Jones – who has spent much of the trial mocking the proceedings on his Infowars show – vowed that he “won’t apologise” for his actions as he complained that “people think that I killed the kids”.
Rachel Sharp has the details.
Alex Jones shouts ‘I’m done apologising’ at Sandy Hook parents crying in court
Jury resume their deliberations
14:57 , Bevan Hurley
The judge and jury entered the courtroom in Connecticut a short time ago.
After receiving a few instructions from Judge Barbara Bellis, the six-person panel have resumed their deliberations.
We’ll bring you any updates as soon as they happen.
Alex Jones ‘unleashed hell’ on election officials
15:37 , Bevan Hurley
In a new interview with Texas Monthly, Texas secretary of state John Scott spoke of the toll that Alex Jones’ lies about the 2020 election being stolen have taken on officials.
Conspiracy theories about voting machines, cybersecurity and ineligible voters had led to death threats against half of the state’s election workers, Mr Scott said.
“The Infowars guy has unleashed hell on our election people. This has been going on for many years,” Mr Scott told the publication.
“And I don’t want to give a free pass to people who are crazy enough to go out there and say they’re going to kill somebody because they’re doing their job. I don’t want to give them an excuse.”
Mr Jones used his Infowars platform to spread wild, baseless lies about the election, and riled up the crowd at the January 6 riot at the US Capitol.
Alex Jones speaks to reporters outside his Sandy Hook defamation trial in Waterbury, Connecticut (REUTERS)
WATCH: Sandy Hook and 9/11 were ‘best two days’ of Jones’s life
16:01 , Bevan Hurley
Josh Koskoff, representing the Sandy Hook families, told the jury during closing arguments that Alex Jones thrived on stoking division and hatred.
He used his enormous platform on Infowars to spread lies for financial gain, Mr Koskoff said, and that the 2012 Sandy Hook mass shooting and 9/11 were “the best two days of his life”.
Watch the video below.
Sandy Hook and 9/11 were ‘best two days’ of Alex Jones’s life, victims’ lawyer claims
Jury return to courtroom with a question
16:32 , Bevan Hurley
The jury have reentered the courtroom with a question for the judge.
They’re asking the judge to clarify a part of the testimony. No verdict yet.
The trial is being shown live on Law & Crime’s YouTube channel.
Jury to take morning recess
16:35 , Bevan Hurley
While the attorneys and the judge discuss the question, Judge Barbara Bellis has directed the jury to take a 15 minute morning recess.
The jury were asking about how they should be assessing damages, the New York Times’ Elizabeth Williamson explains.
Jury return to courtroom
17:17 , Bevan Hurley
Judge Barbara Bellis has called the judge back to the courtroom to answer the jury’s question.
She says focussing on one or two sentences of the instructions is “not helpful”.
“Therefore you should not single out particular words or sentences and should consider (the instructions) as a whole.”
She thanks the jury and they are excused to return to deliberate.
The lunch break is scheduled for 1pm.
The NYT’s Elizabeth Williamson has a helpful summary of why the jury question is important.
Kanye West asks: ‘Have I reached Alex Jones territory yet’?
17:51 , Bevan Hurley
During an interview on Tucker Carlson last week, Kanye West pushed conspiracy theories about the Uvalde mass shooting in Texas on 24 May.
He said that “the people at The Gap knew (about the school shooting) before it even happened, it was so in sync the information”.
He later clarified that the media settled on a “narrative” suspiciously quickly about what took place when a gunman killed 19 students and two children.
“Have I reached Alex Jones territory yet?” he asked Carlson.
Read more on Kanye West’s current troubles on our blog below.
Holocaust Museum invites Kanye West after anti-semitic tweets – follow live
WATCH: Key moments from Alex Jones’ defamation trial
18:38 , Bevan Hurley
A jury in Connecticut resumed its deliberations today to decide how much Alex Jones must pay in damages for defaming family members of Sandy Hook victims.
Here is a video recap of the key moments from the trial so far.
Key moments from Alex Jones defamation trial
ICYMI: Jones’ attorney likens him to Atwood and Orwell
18:59 , Bevan Hurley
In closing arguments, Norm Pattis claimed Alex Jones was a “mad prophet” while comparing him to literary greats Margaret Atwood and George Orwell.
Full story below.
Alex Jones’ lawyer compares him to The Handmaid’s Tale author Margaret Atwood
How Alex Jones’ influenced the January 6 riots
19:35 , Bevan Hurley
Alex Jones has become an extremely influential figure on the far-right through his Infowars channel, forging alliances with violent militias like the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys.
This feature from Richard Hall on Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes, who is on trial for seditious conspiracy, explores how the conspiracy theories Mr Jones helped to spread about the 2020 election sparked the riots at the US Capitol on January 6.
How Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes went from ballroom dancing to sedition charges
ICYMI: Alex Jones says he’s ‘done apologising’
20:10 , Bevan Hurley
The courtroom in Connecticut descended into chaos on 23 September as the far-right conspiracy theorist took the stand in his defamation case and refused to acknowledge any responsibility for causing a decade of harassment to the victims’ families.
“I’ve already said I’m sorry hundreds of times. And I’m done saying sorry,” he shouted across the courtroom.
Mr Jones – who has spent much of the trial mocking the proceedings on his Infowars show – vowed that he “won’t apologise” for his actions as he complained that “people think that I killed the kids”.
Rachel Sharp has the details.
Alex Jones shouts ‘I’m done apologising’ at Sandy Hook parents crying in court
Alex Jones rants that liberals hate Putin because he’s Christian
20:35 , Bevan Hurley
While a jury deliberate how much Alex Jones has to pay 15 family members of Sandy Hook victims for defaming them, he has continued to spread wild conspiracy theories.
In an appearance on Steve Bannon’s podcast on Monday night, he said liberals have a “fetish for hating Russians and Putin because they’ve become more Christian”.
Jury deliberations continue
20:46 , Bevan Hurley
A six-person jury weighing how much Alex Jones must pay 15 family members of Sandy Hook victims have now been deliberating for around 13 hours.
There’s been no movement from the jury since the lunch break.
Around an hour into their second full day of discussions on Tuesday, jurors asked for help interpreting a sentence in their instructions on how they should determine damages.
In response, Judge Barbara Bellis advised them to consider the lengthy instructions as a whole.
WATCH: Judge tells off Alex Jones’s lawyer for ‘personal attacks’ in closing statements
21:10 , Bevan Hurley
In a testy exchange during closing arguments, Alex Jones’ attorney Norm Pattis insinuated that lawyers representing the Sandy Hook families were motivated by money.
“It doesn’t mean a thing here for the plaintiff’s lawyers if it doesn’t go ka-ching,” Mr Pattis said.
The accusation drew a stern response from Judge Barbara Bellis, who told Mr Pattis to “refrain” from any further “personal attacks”.
Watch the clip here.
Judge tells off Alex Jones’s lawyer for ‘personal attacks’ in closing statements
ICYMI: Sandy Hook father says he felt like he ‘failed’ his slain daughter
21:30 , Bevan Hurley
Choking back tears, Robbie Parker testified in late September that he believed he was “failing” six-year-old Emilie’s memory as Alex Jones lies continued to spread lies about her.
Emilie was one of the 26 students and staff members murdered in the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School on 14 December 2012.
One day after the massacre, the devastated father gave a brief speech to the media where he paid tribute to his little girl who “made the world a better place” for being in it.
Unbeknownst to Mr Parker at the time, it was the first time any of the victims’ family members had spoken out publicly following their deaths.
He told the jury that he became a target for Mr Jones and his Infowars followers’ campaign of harassment and intimidation.
Rachel Sharp has the story.
Sandy Hook father says Alex Jones lies made him feel like he ‘failed’ his daughter
Jury have sent another note to the judge
21:32 , Bevan Hurley
The jury have sent a new note to the judge as they continue to deliberate damages for the families of the Sandy Hook victims in Connecticut.
Jury ask to rewatch testimony of witness William Sherlach
21:37 , Bevan Hurley
The jury have request to see the testimony of William Sherlach, whose wife Mary was killed in the Sandy Hook shooting.
Judge Barbara Bellis says the 68 minute video will be queued up for them in the morning.
Jury dismissed until 9.45am on Wednesday
21:38 , Bevan Hurley
Judge Baraba Bellis has dismissed the jury for the day – so no verdict today.
They’ll resume deliberations at 9.45am, when they will watch the hour-long testimony from William Sherlach.