Madison Kwiecinski – Editor-in-Chief 

Mvk5945@psu.edu 

Alex Jones, a far-right conservative and talk show host, is seeking a new trial after the court determined he should pay nearly $1 billion in compensatory damages to eight families and one first responder who suffered losses in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. 

In 2012, after new reports stated 26 people were killed in the shooting, Alex Jones repeatedly argued that the shooting was staged and that all of the families and first responders were “crisis actors,” an accusation which was in no way grounded in fact. 

Although the compensatory damages Jones was ordered to pay may seem substantial in value, it is meant to address the emotional agony these families had to endure, not only from losing their child and loved ones but also for the added hardship pressed upon them due to Jones’ claims. Throughout the course of the trial, these families spoke of the harassment they were forced to endure when those they ran into during their day-to-day lives refused to believe the trauma their family had undergone. 

On Friday, Jones’ lawyers, Norm Pattis and Kevin Smith,  argued that pretrial and evidentiary rulings prevented Jones from receiving a fair trial, therefore arguing the case deserves to be reheard.  They argued that, “the amount of the compensatory damages award exceeds any rational relationship to the evidence,” stating that the verdict, “is both unjust and against the weight of the evidence.” 

The official verdict was for a total of $965 million in damages, although this was the second trial Jones had to face regarding the Sandy Hook victims. In August of this year, a Texas jury awarded approximately $50 million to the parents of another child who was lost in the 2012 shooting. 

Robbie Parker, one of the plaintiffs in the suit against Jones, lost his six-year-old daughter Emilie in the shooting. Parker was an early target for conspiracy theorists, as he spoke out at a news conference the day after the shooting. 

“What we were able to accomplish was just to simply tell the truth,” Parker stated, saying he was proud of how the trial had gone. “And it shouldn’t be this hard, and it shouldn’t be this scary.” The jury awarded him more than any other plaintiff, totaling $120 million. 

Jones was not in court to react to the verdict, but made his opinions of it well known on his show Infowars. He stated that “Today is a very, very, very dark day for freedom of speech.” 

Jones stated that he, himself, had never mentioned any of the plaintiffs by name, and therefore he believes these charges are completely unfounded. The victims in the trial claim that they were threatened and harassed for years about the loss of their loved ones by people who believed the conspiracy theory and lies Jones’ spread on his show. 

“All made up. Hilarious,” Jones stated. “So this is what a show trial looks like. I mean, this is the left completely out of control.” 

Mark Barden, who lost his seven-year-old son in the shootings, testified to some of the horrors he had to face. Barden had people who believed the conspiracy theory Jones spread physically urinate on his son’s grave, and threaten that they would dig up his coffin. Barden and his wife were awarded $86 million in the verdict. 

Erica Lafferty, the daughter of the principal, Dawn Hochsprung, who lost her life in the shooting testified that in the aftermath of the shooting, people mailed rape threats to her home. 

“I wish that after today, I can just be a daughter grieving my mother and stop worrying about the conspiracy theorists,” Lafferty stated outside the trial. She feels that Jones’ “hate, lies and conspiracy theories will follow both me and my family through the rest of our days.” 

“Going forward – because, unfortunately, there will be other horrific events like this – people like Alex Jones will have to rethink what they say,” stated another Plaintiff, William Sherlach, who lost his wife, the school psychologist Mary Sherlach.