Controversial alt-right radio show host, Alex Jones, has been on trial after claiming that the Sandy Hook school shooting in 2012 was a ‘hoax,’ prompting multiple lawsuits from parents of the children who were killed ten years ago. On “The Alex Jones Show,” Jones repeatedly claimed that the Sandy Hook shooting was fake and set up as a ploy for liberals to increase gun control laws, claiming that the government hired child and parent crisis actors. Naturally, parents of the victims were outraged at these false claims spreading across the internet, with Jones now facing up to $150 million in emotional damage charges.
The Associated Press shared that “A forensic psychiatrist testified the parents suffer from ‘complex post-traumatic stress disorder’ inflicted by ongoing trauma, similar to what might be experienced by a soldier at war or a child abuse victim,” with all of this additional pain inflicted by Alex Jones’s claims that their child’s deaths were not real. Additionally, Jones’s large fan base targeted the families, genuinely believing that they were government pawns who wanted to restrict gun access for all Americans, with despicable reports that the grieving parents had to suffer through “gunshots fired at a home, online and telephone threats, and harassment on the street by strangers.”
While Alex Jones has now admitted that he was wrong after meeting the parents of 6-year-old Jesse Lewis who was killed in the 2012 tragedy, saying “I unintentionally took part in things that did hurt these people’s feelings,” and that he now recognizes that the shooting was “100% real,” an interesting new factor was presented in this case that could extend beyond these specific emotional damage charges. F. Andino Reynal, the lawyer representing Alex Jones, accidentally sent two years worth of text messages from Jones’s phone to the prosecutor Mark Bankston, representing the Sandy Hook parents. While the texts revealed Jones’s multiple instances of lying under oath in relation to the Sandy Hook case, messages to former Trump political adviser Roger Stone were also found, possibly revealing crucial information regarding the Jan. 6th capitol riots.
Considering that Alex Jones is extremely vocal about his far-right beliefs and allegiance to former President Donald Trump, it comes as no surprise that he was subpoenaed last November to testify in the Jan. 6th hearings based on his spreading of misinformation on his radio show regarding the 2020 election results and urged his followers to “fight for Trump.” The House committee investigating the January insurrection requested the contents of Jones’s phone, with prosecutor Mark Bankston saying that these texts are no longer confidential and must be released. Currently, the committee has obtained the texts, and Jones could now be charged not only by the Sandy Hook parents, but criminally charged by the Jan. 6th committee.
