Jury selection began in a trial to determine how much right-wing commentator Alex Jones owes after the families of the Sandy Hook shooting successfully sued him for defamation. The lawsuits do not ask jurors to award a specific dollar amount against Jones, hence the need for a trial.
The 2012 shooting left 20 students and six faculty members dead at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. It’s the deadliest classroom school shooting in U.S. history.
Families of eight of the victims and an FBI agent who responded to the school sued Jones and his company, Free Speech Systems, after Jones told his audience the shooting was a hoax involving actors aimed at increasing gun control. While Jones has since acknowledged the shooting was not a hoax, he has insisted he wasn’t responsible for alleged suffering the Sandy Hook families sued over.
“No, I don’t (accept) responsibility because I wasn’t trying to cause pain and suffering,” Jones said, according to the transcripts from an April deposition made public this month. “They are being used and their children who can’t be brought back (are) being used to destroy the First Amendment.”
Monday’s trial centers around a lawsuit filed by two of the families. Courts in Texas and Connecticut have already found Jones liable for defamation. In both states, judges have issued default judgements against Jones without trials because he failed to respond to court orders and turn over documents.
Despite being banned from YouTube, Facebook and Spotify, Alex Jones has been in national headlines recently for more than just the Sandy Hook defamation lawsuits. Earlier this month, the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riots highlighted Jones among other Conservative commentators when making the argument that former President Donald Trump incited the riots.
“One of the most historic events in American history has just taken place,” Jones was cited as saying on Dec. 19, 2020. “President Trump, in the early morning hours today, tweeted that he wants the American people to march on Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
