Alex Jones trial: Infowars host ordered to pay more than $4M in damages to Sandy Hook parents
AUSTIN, Texas - The jury has handed down a verdict in the Alex Jones defamation damages trial. The Infowars founder has been ordered to pay more than $4 million to the parents of one of the Sandy Hook shooting victims.
Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, the parents of Jesse Lewis who died in the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, had sued Jones, claiming he defamed victims’ families by saying the Sandy Hook shooting was a hoax.
"This verdict is merely about Scarlett and Neil's mental stress, it has nothing to do with Jones and what his business is worth and the jury was instructed on that," said Mark Bankston, plaintiff’s attorney.
The $4.1 million dollars is in addition to $1.5 million in fines that were already secured. Bankston hopes to get more out of the punitive phase of the trial.
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A judge ruled months ago in favor of Heslin and Lewis, and over the past seven days, attorneys for both the parents and Jones presented their cases to a jury tasked with deciding the amount to pay Heslin and Lewis.
The compensatory verdict is far less than the $150 million requested.
"Today was an absolute vindication for the American legal system. We are very pleased with the verdict thus far and we look forward to presenting the rest of the case," said F. Andino Reynal, attorney for Alex Jones.
Lawyers were asking for $75 million for them, and another $75 million in punitive damages in the second phase.