Sandy Hook parents of two slain children win defamation case against Alex Jones in Texas
Rob Ryser
Oct. 1, 2021
File photo. Infowars founder Alex Jones.
Olivier Douliery / TNS
NEWTOWN - The parents of two first-graders slain in the Sandy Hook massacre have won a defamation lawsuit in Texas against conspiracy extremist and Infowars host Alex Jones.
Scarlett Lewis, the mother of Jesse Lewis, and
Lenny Pozner and
Veronique De La Rosa, the parents of Noah Pozner, will have their cases sent to a jury to determine damages.
“We believe the court hit this nail on the head when it considered Alex Jones’ and Infowars’ “bad faith approach to this litigation,” Mr. Jones’ “public threats,” and Jones’ “professed belief that these proceedings are show trials,” said the parents’ attorney, Bill Odgen in a prepared statement. “This day has been a long time coming, and we are not surprised by the court’s rulings.”
OUR BEST OFFER: 26 Weeks for 99¢! Get Digital Access Today
ACT NOW
The parents, who sued Jones for more than $1 million for claiming, among other things, that the 2012 slaying of 26 first-graders and educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School was “staged,” “synthetic,” “manufactured,” “a giant hoax” and “completely fake with actors,” had been battling with Jones in Travis County District Court for pretrial documents he had been ordered to turn over to them.
After warnings and sanctions, Judge Maya Guerra Gamble ruled on Monday that Jones was in default.
“The court finds that (Jones’) discovery conduct in this case is the result of flagrant bad faith and callous disregard for the responsibilities of discovery under the rules,” Gamble wrote in her order.
Two other defamation lawsuits filed by the father of Jesse Lewis,
Neil Heslin, are pending in Gamble’s Texas court. Heslin has also asked the judge to find Jones in default of his obligations to turn over pretrial documents.
The defamation cases in Texas are separate from a defamation lawsuit filed against Jones in Connecticut by six families who lost loved ones in the Sandy Hook massacre and an FBI agent, where the judge has
also threatened default against Jones if he doesn’t comply with discovery orders.
