AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones is still under orders to pay more than $1 billion over his false claims surrounding the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre despite a Texas court reducing some of the money awarded to families.
For the bombastic Infowars founder, the ruling that saves him more than $40 million was still a legal victory amid multiple punishing financial judgments that forced him and his company, Free Speech Systems, to file for bankruptcy.
Sandy Hook families have yet to collect any money from Jones, who has left his Infowars platform amid numerous ongoing legal battles but is still broadcasting on other websites.
He still faces a defamation judgment of $1.25 billion in a Connecticut lawsuit and the nearly $6 million that remains in the Texas case.
What to know about Jones, Infowars and his legal cases:
How Jones lawsuits got here
Several relatives of the 20 first graders and six educators killed at Sandy Hook sued Jones and his company, Free Speech Systems, in Connecticut and Texas for defamation and inflicting emotional distress for saying the shooting was staged by “crisis actors” to win more gun control.
Victims’ relatives testified that followers of Jones subjected them to death and rape threats, in-person harassment and abusive comments on social media.
Jones argued there was no proof that linked him to the others’ actions. He did concede under oath that the shooting did happen.
The Connecticut case produced a judgment against Jones of more than $1.4 billion in damages, which was reduced by about $150 million during appeals. In Texas, Jones was hit with nearly $50 million in damages.
On Friday, a state appeals court threw out most of the Texas award because it vastly exceeded the state's legal cap on punitive damages. The ruling reduced that portion from more than $40 million to $1.5 million, leaving about $6 million intact.
Only one judgment impacted
The Texas court ruling did not throw out the finding of defamation against Jones. He still called it a major victory for free speech and vowed to continue his appeals.
“I got lawyers who are good constitutional lawyers, and they are not backing down,” Jones said.
The Texas ruling has no impact on the bigger Connecticut case, where Jones was found liable for $1.25 billion. That judgment still stands, and Jones' appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court last year was denied.
“The families care not at all about this irrelevant ruling which affects only two of the 19 claims they all share. Jones still faces over a billion dollars of liability, so this changes absolutely nothing. All it does is highlight the absurdity of Texas law,” said Mark Bankston, an attorney for the families in the Texas case.
How Infowars became a media empire
Jones pushed many conspiracy theories over the last three decades, including that the U.S. government was behind or failed to stop the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing and the 9/11 attacks.
As the outlandish nature of his false claims grew, so did his presence across radio stations, his Infowars website and social media.
After getting fired from an Austin radio station in the mid-1990s, he began broadcasting from home on his Infowars website. He bought the domain name for $9.
In 2004, he had two employees and a tiny office. By 2010, Jones had over 60 employees. By 2024, he had four studios in Austin and a warehouse for the products he sells.
Jones filed for bankruptcy in 2022 as the judgments against him mounted. The liquidation of assets forced him to surrender his Infowars platform.
He still broadcasts on new websites, social media and streaming platforms, and he continues to sell merchandise, including dietary supplements and clothing that bring in millions of dollars a year.
The Onion steps in the take over Infowars
Sandy Hook families have been prevented from collecting any money from Jones while he pursues lengthy appeals in state and federal courts.
The satirical website The Onion has moved to take over Jones’ Infowars platforms and turn his bullhorn of conspiracy theories into parody sites.
Jones took Infowars off the air in April. A proposed licensing deal that would give The Onion temporary authority to use Infowars’ trademarks, copyrights and intellectual property has been put on hold during Jones' appeals.
Still, The Onion has set up its own Infowars webpage on its website, running videos of shows parodying Jones. The webpage replaced the “o” in Infowars with an onion and sells products under that logo including T-shirts, tote bags and coffee mugs, with some proceeds going to the Sandy Hook families.
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Associated Press writer Dave Collins contributed from Hartford, Connecticut.
