Connecticut Judge Barabara Bellis ordered the punitive damages against Infowars’ host and Free Speech Systems. Jones has repeatedly told his millions of followers that the massacre that killed 20 first-graders and six teachers was orchestrated by “crisis agents” to enact more gun control. “The record clearly supports plaintiffs’ argument that defendants’ conduct was intentional and malicious and certain to cause harm because of their infrastructure, their ability to disseminate content, and their vast audience, including infowarriors,” the judge wrote in 45 – page decision. Christopher Mattei, an attorney for the Sandy Hook families, said he hopes the award sends a message to conspiracy theorists who profit from lies. “The Court recognized the ‘willful, malicious … and heinous’ conduct of Mr. Jones and his business entities,” Mattei said in a statement. On his show Thursday, Jones called the award “ridiculous” and a “joke” and said he has little money to pay the damages. “Well, of course I laugh at that,” he said. “It would be like sending me a bill for a billion dollars in the mail. Oh man, we got you. All for a psychological effect. It’s all Wizard of Oz… when they know the bankruptcy that’s going on and everything, that it’s going to show what I’ve got and that’s it, and I’ve got next to nothing.” Relatives of eight victims and the FBI agent testified during a monthlong trial that they were threatened and harassed for years by people who deny the shooting happened. Strangers appeared in some of their homes and confronted some of them in public. People made abusive comments to them on social media and in emails. And some received threats of death and rape. Six jurors ordered Jones to pay $965 million to compensate 15 plaintiffs for defamation, infliction of emotional distress and violations of the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act. Jones called the trial unfair and an attack on free speech rights. He says he will appeal the verdicts. He also said he doesn’t have the money to pay such huge verdicts because he has less than $2 million to his name — contradicting testimony in a similar trial in Texas. Free Speech Systems, meanwhile, is seeking bankruptcy protection. Jones said Thursday that he only has “a couple hundred thousand dollars” in his savings account. A message seeking comment was left for Jones’ attorney, Norm Pattis. Bellis found the parent company of Jones and Infowars liable for damages without trial last year as a consequence of what he called repeated failures to turn over numerous financial documents and other records to the plaintiffs. After the unusual “default” ruling, the jury had only to decide the amount of compensatory damages and whether punitive damages were warranted. Jones says he turned over thousands of documents and the default judgment deprived him of his right to file a defense to the lawsuit. The punitive damages awarded by the judge include approximately $323 million for the plaintiffs’ attorney’s fees and costs and $150 million for violations of the Unfair Trade Practices Act. In Connecticut, punitive damages for defamation and infliction of emotional distress are generally limited to plaintiffs’ legal fees. Lawyers for the Sandy Hook plaintiffs will receive one-third of $965 million in damages under a retainer agreement — bringing their legal fees to $322 million. However, there is no limit on punitive damages for violations of the Unfair Trade Practices Act. The plaintiffs had not sought a specific amount of punitive damages, but according to a hypothetical calculation they said such damages could be about $2.75 trillion under the Unfair Trade Act. In a similar trial in Texas in August, Jones was ordered to pay nearly $50 million to the parents of another child killed in the Sandy Hook shooting because he called the massacre a hoax. A forensic economist testified during that trial that Jones and Free Speech Systems have a combined net worth of up to $270 million. A third and final trial on Jones’ hoax claims is expected to begin around the end of the year in Texas. As in Connecticut, Jones was found liable for non-judicial damages in both Texas cases for failing to turn over several records to the plaintiffs.
