R&I – FS
US radio host and prominent conspiracy theorist Alex Jones has lost another legal case after falsely calling a mass school shooting a “hoax”.
Twenty children and six adults were shot dead at Sandy Hook elementary school in Connecticut in 2012.
But Mr Jones claimed the event had been made up by supporters of gun controls and the mainstream media. He will now have to pay legal costs to the parents of two six-year-old boys killed in the attack.
Mr Jones has long claimed on his radio show and right-wing Infowars website that the attack at Sandy Hook was “completely fake” and a “giant hoax”. He has faced a slew of lawsuits from several parents of the victims. In response, he has acknowledged the shooting took place but denied wronging the families.
In Thursday’s ruling, a Texas judge said Mr Jones had repeatedly failed to hand over legal documents and evidence to the court to support his claims about the attack. As a result, a default judgement was issued. Judge Maya Guerra Gamble wrote that Mr Jones and other defendants had shown “flagrant bad faith and callous disregard” by not turning over the files. The ruling means he and Infowars must pay an undecided amount to the parents of Noah Pozner and Jesse Lewis, two six-year-old boys who died. The amount will be determined in another trial.
Rawr
Article URL : https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-58771927