Alex Jones, a bombastic far-right conspiracy theorist, ranted to his millions of followers for years, claiming that the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was a hoax and claimed that children were not killed and that the parents were crisis actors.
Jones has argued that the parents of the supposed victims were part of an elaborate ruse to force gun control in the United States. When he was under oath and facing a jury that could hit him with $150 million or more in damages for his false claims, he said on Wednesday he now realizes that was irresponsible.
Sandy Hook Attack
He also said that he believes that what happened in the deadliest school shooting in American history was "100% real." The individual's public contrition came on the final day of testimony in a two-week defamation lawsuit against him and his Austin-based media company Free Speech Systems.
The lawsuit was brought by Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, the parents of six-year-old Jesse Lewis who was a first grader, and among the 20 students and six teachers who lost their lives in Newtown, Connecticut, on Dec. 14, 2012, as per the Associated Press.
"I unintentionally took part in things that did hurt these people's feelings, and I'm sorry for that," Jones said, who also acknowledged raising conspiracy claims about other mass tragedies, from Oklahoma City and Boston Marathon bombings to the mass shootings in Las Vegas and Parkland, Florida.
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However, Jones' apology was not enough for Heslin and Lewis, saying that they wanted the individual and the media empire he controls and used to spread his false assertions to be held accountable. Heslin said that Jones started this fight and that they will finish it.
The couple testified on Tuesday about a decade of trauma that was inflicted first by the murder of their son and the events that followed. There were gunshots fired at home and they received online and telephone threats and harassment on the street by strangers, which were all fueled by Jones and his conspiracy theory that was spread to his followers via his website Infowars.
According to CNN, during the trial, a lawyer for Heslin and Lewis cross-examined Jones and fact-checked his answers in real-time. The jury that heard the case will determine how much Jones will have to pay the parents who won a default judgment against him earlier this year.
Alex Jones' Lies
One attorney representing the couple has asked the jury to award $150 million in damages and Jones did not fare well on Wednesday as he was cross-examined by Mark Bankston. The attorney disclosed to Jones and the court that he had recently acquired evidence proving Jones had lied when he claimed during the discovery process that he had never texted about the 2012 Sandy Hook attack.
Bankston said that 12 days before the trial, Jones' attorneys allegedly messed up and sent him an entire digital copy of the conspiracy theorist's cellphone with every text message that he had sent for the last two years, the New York Times reported.
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