Alex Jones of InfoWars is the poster boy for evil. He has been making monies off the December 2012 “Sandy Hook” massacre that occurred at an elementary school where children were gunned down, by selling the entire tragedy as a hoax. When some social web sites took down his videos, he published maps to the families’ homes to punish those families who dared to push for this action. There are at least 3 families who were so harassed by Mr. Jones conspiracy theories that they were forced to move for safety reasons.

There are currently 3 lawsuits filed against him because his usage of their heartache and pain to make monies that has caused them real harm. Alex Jones is arguing that portrayal of the Sandy Hook events is an opinion, and thus his publication is protected by the US first amendment, his right to free speech. The families counter his stance by detailing how Mr. Jones has presented his version of what happened at Sandy Hook On 12/14/12 as his truth. His followers have bought his truth, hook, line and sinker. Mr. Jones has profited by selling this lie. The judge overseeing the 1st lawsuit to see the courtroom, will render a decision as to whether this case can move forward by or before the beginning of September 2018.

For a quick review:

On December 14, 2012, Adam Lanza, a 20-year-old mentally ill man who reportedly had a preoccupation with mass shootings, killed his Mom and then drove to the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. where he shot and killed 26 people, including 20 first-graders, in less than 11 minutes, before taking his own life. Two other school staffers were wounded by gunfire. It was one of the worst mass shootings in U.S. history.

As per an August 2, 2018 CBS reporth, “Court hearings will resume Thursday in lawsuits against radio host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. Several families from the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre are suing Jones for defamation over his claims the school shooting was a hoax. A man who Jones’ website misidentified as the gunman in the Parkland school shooting has also filed a defamation suit against him.”

“Jones’ attorney argues that his client’s past comments are protected by free speech and the suits should be dismissed, reports CBS News’ Tony Dokoupil. Although Jones now admits the Sandy Hook shooting was real, he stands by the message he has been spreading to his estimated 5 million listeners.”

“Jones was not in the Texas courtroom on Wednesday (8/1/18) where his attorneys tried to dismiss the first of at least three defamation lawsuits against the radio host. Instead, Jones was at his Austin-based Infowars headquarters addressing – among other things – his ongoing legal fight.”

“The parents of six-year-old Noah Pozner, who was killed in the Sandy Hook massacre, say Jones’ followers have tormented them with death threats, forcing them to move seven times. They’re seeking more than $1 million in damages.”

“The court battle coincides with Spotify’s decision to remove several episodes of Jones’ podcast for violating the music streaming service’s hate speech policy. Last week, Facebook and YouTube removed eight of Jones’ videos for violating similar policies.”

“A state district judge has a month to decide whether to let the lawsuit involving Jones and Pozner’s parents continue.”

Link to article: Alex Jones’ lawyer makes case against Sandy Hook parents

Here is the rest of the story…

On July 31, 2018, Elizabeth Williamson for The New York Times penned the following report, “Alex Jones, Pursued Over Infowars Falsehoods, Faces a Legal Crossroads”

Excerpts:

“In the five years since Noah Pozner was killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., death threats and online harassment have forced his parents, Veronique De La Rosa and Leonard Pozner, to relocate seven times. They now live in a high-security community hundreds of miles from where their 6-year-old is buried.”

“I would love to go see my son’s grave and I don’t get to do that, but we made the right decision,” Ms. De La Rosa said in a recent interview. Each time they have moved, online fabulists stalking the family have published their whereabouts.

“With the speed of light,” she said. “They have their own community, and they have the ear of some very powerful people.”

“On Wednesday in an Austin courtroom, the struggle of the Sandy Hook families to hold to account Alex Jones, a powerful leader of this online community, will reach a crossroads. Lawyers for Noah Pozner’s parents will seek to convince a Texas judge that they — and by extension the families of eight other victims in the 2012 shooting that killed 20 first graders and six adults — have a valid defamation claim against Mr. Jones, whose Austin-based Infowars media operation spread false claims that the shooting was an elaborate hoax.”

“The Pozner hearing is a bellwether in three cases, including another in Texas and one in Connecticut, filed by relatives of nine Sandy Hook victims. It comes as the social media platforms Mr. Jones relies upon to spread incendiary claims initiate efforts to curb him.”

“The day after the Pozner case, in the same courthouse, is a hearing in a separate defamation case against Mr. Jones brought by Marcel Fontaine, who was falsely identified on Infowars’ website as the gunman in the Parkland, Fla., school shooting in February. Mr. Fontaine, who lives in Massachusetts, has never visited Florida. The Pozner family and Mr. Fontaine are being represented by Mark Bankston of Farrar & Ball, a law firm based in Houston.”

“Mr. Jones is trying to have the Pozner and Fontaine cases dismissed under the Texas Citizens Participation Act, which protects citizens’ right to free speech against plaintiffs who aim to silence them through costly litigation. Mr. Jones is seeking more than $100,000 in court costs from the Pozner family. Efforts to reach Mr. Jones on his cellphone and through the Infowars email were unsuccessful. Mark Enoch, his lawyer in the case, did not respond to telephone and email requests for comment.”

“Mr. Jones has emerged as an avatar for a “post truth” ethos that flourished online during the last presidential campaign. He gained a national spotlight and millions of followers after Donald J. Trump appeared on his show during the campaign, praising his reputation as “amazing.” Since then, many of Mr. Jones’s bogus theories have targeted President Trump’s perceived adversaries and reflect opinions held by his political base.”

“Last week Mr. Jones broadcast a bizarre accusation that Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election, was involved in a child sex ring. In an online broadcast, Mr. Jones addressed Mr. Mueller while repeatedly imitating firing a handgun, saying: “It’s the real world. Politically. You’re going to get it, or I’m going to die trying.”

Link to entire article: Alex Jones, Pursued Over Infowars Falsehoods, Faces a Legal Crossroads