Alex Jones trial - live: Conspiracy theorist to pay Sandy Hook family $4m compensation as verdict reached

InfoWars founder and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones has finished testifying in the defamation trial against him over his claims that the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting massacre, which saw 20 children and six adults killed, was a hoax.

Testifying before the jury Jones said: “Especially since I’ve met the parents. It’s 100% real.”He was taken to court in Austin, Texas, by Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, the parents of Jesse Lewis, who was six years old when he was killed in the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut.

Both gave impassioned testimony when in the witness box.

Jones is facing potential damages of up to $150m. The radio host underwent uncomfortable cross-examination on Wednesday morning when much of what he testified was refuted by the plaintiff’s attorney and he was asked if he was aware of what perjury was.

It also transpired that his own lawyer had mistakenly shared the entire contents of Jones’ phone with the opposition legal team — this is now reportedly being sought by the House select committee looking into the events surrounding 6 January 2021 in Washington, DC, when Jones was in the city.

Key Points

• Jones’ attorney mistakenly sent two years of his text messages to Sandy Hook family’s lawyer

• Jones tried to hawk his supplements as he took the stand in $150m defamation trial

• Sandy Hook victim’s mother leads a powerful condemnation of Alex Jones

• Judge Gamble rebukes Jones for his testimony so far

• Psychiatrist shares heartbreaking fallout of Sandy Hook shooting

Verdict reached: Jones to pay $4m in compensatory damages

22:29 , Oliver O'Connell

The jury has reached a verdict, but will return at 8.45am tomorrow morning to hear more evidence regarding any punitive damages they may want to impose.

Alex Jones is already guilty, so on the eight counts, the following amounts were awarded to the plaintiffs in damages:

This brings it to a total of more than $4m. Jones had previously claimed that more than $2m would wipe out his business.

22:18 , Oliver O'Connell

Jury returns to the courtroom and is seated.

A verdict has been reached by 10 members of the jury.

22:17 , Oliver O'Connell

The plaintiffs and bother sets of lawyers have come back into the courtroom. Alex Jones is not present.

Judge Maya Guerra Gamble is presiding.

Parents of Sandy Hook victim rip into ‘psychopath’ Alex Jones at trial

21:42 , Oliver O'Connell

The father of a 6-year-old boy murdered in the Sandy Hook school shooting says “pyscopaths like Alex Jones” made it impossible to heal during his testimony at the Infowars founder’s defamation trial on Tuesday.

Neil Heslin labelled Jones as “cowardly” for skipping his testimony and lambasted the talking head for his false claims that the mass shooting, sharing that Jones’ theories left his family living in a constant state of fear.

Mr Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, the parents of Jesse Lewis, are suing Jones for $150m for spreading false conspiracy theories about the shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, that claimed 26 lives in 2012.

Parents of Sandy Hook victims rip into ‘psychopath’ Alex Jones at trial

Alex Jones’ conspiracy theories created ‘living hell’ for parents of Sandy Hook victim

20:29 , Oliver O'Connell

The parents of a 6-year-old killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting described being put through a “living hell” of death threats, harassment and ongoing trauma over the past decade as they confronted conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, who has used his media platforms to push claims that it was all a hoax.

Sandy Hook parents: Alex Jones claims created 'living hell'

Jones pleads for ‘prayers’ on Infowars as his texts set to be handed over to Jan 6 probe

19:37 , Oliver O'Connell

Alex Jones pleaded for the prayers of his Infowars audience as he lashed out at his “damn” lawyers for mistakenly handing over a copy of his cellphone data.

The right-wing conspiracy theorist was left stunned as the lawyers for a Sandy Hook family suing him for $150m revealed his own legal team had accidentally sent them the copy during trial earlier this week.

Now, it appears that the January 6 committee will be getting a copy of his text messages and emails as well.

Graeme Massie reports.

Alex Jones pleads for ‘prayers’ on Infowars as his texts will go to Jan 6 committee

What is on Jones’ phone?

18:58 , Oliver O'Connell

Jim Vertuno of the Associated Press tweets that outside the courthouse, Attorney Mark Bankston said he’s not familiar with everything in the material from Alex Jones’ phone because it was so much that he didn’t have enough time to review it all over the last two days.

He is also unaware whether there is material specific to what the January 6 committee might be looking for. Mr Bankston said that while there is no subpoena from the committee, just a request for the data, he agreed to cooperate.

“We don’t know the full scope and breadth,” of the material, Mr Bankston said. “We certainly saw text messages from as far back as 2019 ... In terms of what all is on that phone, it’s going to take a little while to figure that out.”

Jones loses bid to destroy texts

18:42 , Oliver O'Connell

Alex Jones launched a failed bid to destroy text messages mistakenly sent to the lawyers of Sandy Hook families as a jury deliberates on damages owed by the Infowars host for defamation.

Mr Jones’ attorney Andino Reynal filed for an emergency motion for protection on Thursday morning and also requested a mistrial over the texts he sent in error as part of discovery.

Mr Reynal said the texts contained private medical records and communications covered by attorney-client privilege and accused the plaintiff’s attorney Mark Bankston of looking at files unrelated to the case.

Bevan Hurley reports.

Alex Jones loses bid to destroy texts mistakenly sent to Sandy Hook lawyers

17:50 , Oliver O'Connell

Judge Maya Guerra Gamble calls lunch, so there will be no news from the court until 2pm ET.

17:44 , Oliver O'Connell

Unsurprisingly, Jones is asking viewers to visit the online store and spend their money and describes Infowars as “insolvent”.

He calls this fundraising drive “Operation David” mentioning King David and fighting Goliath in more Biblical references.

The true financial status of Infowars and its founder will be explored in bankruptcy court.

Jones back on air on Infowars

17:38 , Oliver O'Connell

Alex Jones is back on Infowars and ranting about the trial.

He claims his cell number and home address are circulating. “This is all part of my persecution” Jones says and calls it a “test” from god in which he is going into the “middle of the enemy hyenas as they tear me to pieces.

“I told you ten years ago and twenty years ago I would be destroyed,” he says, adding: “My destruction will be spectacular and it will be a light to others.”

“God showed me the path forward,” Jones says in a biblically tinged complaint.

Meanwhile, jury deliberations continue...

16:57 , Oliver O'Connell

The jury continues to deliberate and there is no word on how long they will take.

It is worth remembering that they are considering compensatory damages — i.e. what do the plaintiffs deserve given what Jones has put them through since the murder of their son.

The figure they come up with will have nothing to do with what Jones can afford to pay, hence the $150m figure attached to the case against him.

Once they have agreed as a jury on that, there will be a short hearing for punitive damages which will be added to get to an overall total.

Plaintiff’s lawyer intends to turn over Jones’ phone data to Jan 6 committee ‘immediately'

16:26 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Bankston wants to turn over documents to law enforcement “immediately”. Clearly, Mr Reynal doesn’t want him to do that and one can only imagine how Jones will feel about that.

Judge Gamble asks to whom and Mr Bankston confirms it is the House select committee investigating the attack on the US Capitol on 6 January 2021.

She replies she’s not even sure he could say no to the committee.

Jones testified before the committee earlier this year and when investigators discovered the existence of the phone data, immediately sought access to it.

Jan 6 committee to subpoena Alex Jones’ texts and emails obtained in Sandy Hook trial

16:16 , Oliver O'Connell

Highlight the wider implications of the contents of the phone, Mr Bankston says: “Mr Jones and his intimate message with Roger Stone are not protected ... I am under request from various federal agencies and law enforcement” for the 2.3 gigabytes of material from the phone.

He says he intends to honour those requests immediately.

Judge Gamble tells Mr Reynal: “I don’t think you have complied with the protection order. Ill let you do so now if there are documents you’d like to mark as confidential.”

She will then review them and make a decision but won’t seal the entire phone. She does order the medical records to be deleted by the plaintiffs’ lawyers, which they say they have already done.

Judge Gamble adds that the phone data should have been disclosed “a year or so ago or longer and then there would have been plenty of time” for review.

She denies the move for a mistrial.

16:08 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Bankston argues that by Mr Reynal’s own description of events he made a willful failure of discovery and didn’t turn over requested records until after the case went to trial.

Of the medical records that Mr Reynal said were on the phone from a separate case, Mr Bankston argues that’s a significant data breach on the part of the defence team because Mr Reynal is not on that case.

16:01 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Reynal accuses Mr Bankston of wanting a mistrial and requests one.

15:56 , Oliver O'Connell

Plaintiff lawyer Mark Bankston responds to the request: “Mr Reynal is using it as a fig leaf for his own malpractice.”

He argues that saying “please disregard” is not a legal establishment to return and destroy records when they have been sent over as part of a formal legal request.

Here is video of Mr Reynal’s argument:

Lawyers in court for emergency motion

15:51 , Oliver O'Connell

Judge Gamble has returned to the bench as the defence team has filed an emergency motion for protection.

Cathy Russon of Law & Crime reports that it is regarding attorney Andino Reynal accidentally sending the copy of his client’s phone to the plaintiff’s team.

Mr Reynal wants the records returned, copies destroyed, and requests a mistrial

Deliberations continue

15:46 , Oliver O'Connell

Jim Vertuno of the Associated Press reports from the courthouse in Austin that the lawyers in the case will be given a ten-minute warning when the jury reaches a decision on how much Jones will pay in damages to the plaintiffs.

‘He started turning into every emoji’

15:41 , Oliver O'Connell

The Daily Show on Wednesday night had its own take on the moment Alex Jones was informed that his lawyer had mistakenly given a copy of his entire phone to the opposing legal team.

Host Trevor Noah clearly enjoyed playing the clip of the moment from yesterday’s court proceedings, focussing on Jones’ multitude of expressions and apparent discomfort realising he had been caught lying under oath.

“Oh, s*** that was funny!” said Noah after the footage played the footage. “I like how he was so shocked he started turning into every emoji.”

Commenting on the moment Jones coughed loudly — as he did throughout his time in court — Noah said: “At one point, he even tried to give himself Covid.”

He then impersonated Jones, saying: “You know that disease I said is fake? Yeah, I got it now!”

Watch the clip below via YouTube:

Voices: Alex Jones got his comeuppance at the Sandy Hook trial – at last

15:06 , Megan Sheets

In a new Voices piece, The Independent’s Ryan Coogan writes: There is little in this world more gratifying than seeing a bad man get his comeuppance. The pleasure of seeing somebody brought low after repeatedly “getting away with murder” is better for the human body and soul than vegetables and religion. But for the past few years, consequences haven’t really felt like they’ve been on the cards for a lot of prominent people. Bad men don’t really get their comeuppance anymore. They get book deals, or a TV show, or elected prime minister. Bad men get rich.

Unless your name is Alex Jones, that is, in which case bad men get humiliated over and over again in an extremely public forum, and then get taken to the cleaners by the vulnerable people they used to make a name for themselves.

Read more:

Opinion: Alex Jones got his comeuppance at the Sandy Hook libel trial – at last

Jury to return for deliberation

14:20 , Megan Sheets

Jurors are set to return to the Travis County courthouse between 8.30 and 9am CT on Thursday to resume deliberations.

The 12-person panel was sent out just after 4.30pm on Wednesday, spending only around 20 minutes in the deliberation room before they adjourned for the day.

Dan Soloman of Texas Monthly explained what happens next in a Twitter thread, noting that the jurors will only be determining compensatory damages - with punitive damages to come later.

Alex Jones’ attorney mistakenly gave all of his text messages to Sandy Hook family’s legal team

14:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Alex Jones’ attorney accidentally sent two years of his text messages to the lawyer representing the parents of a child killed in the Sandy Hook school shooting, a court has been told.

Bevan Hurley was watching the trial as it unfolded.

Alex Jones’ attorney mistakenly sent two years of his text messages to rival lawyer

Why false flag conspiracist Alex Jones being sued by the Sandy Hook victims’ families

13:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Hours after 26 people were shot and killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012, Alex Jones began spouting false claims that the massacre wasn’t real.

More than 10 years later, the far-right conspiracy theorist’s inflammatory comments have continued to haunt him as families of the shooting victims – 20 of which were young children – hold him accountable in court.

Following multiple attempts from the Infowars host to delay and derail justice, his time is finally up.

Here’s how Jones ended up in court in Austin this week.

Why is Alex Jones being sued by families of children killed in Sandy Hook massacre?

Watch: Alex Jones claims InfoWars is a Christian ‘self-help’ show

12:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Alex Jones trial shown video of Infowars host belittling jury and accusing judge of ‘rigging’ case

11:00 , Oliver O'Connell

The Alex Jones defamation trial was shown a video of the Infowars host belittling the jury in his case and the judge being accused of “rigging” the proceedings.

The lawyer for the parents of a child killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre played the video, which saw Mr Jones say that the jury consisted of people who “don’t know what planet they’re on”.

Graeme Massie reports.

Alex Jones trial shown video of Infowars host belittling jury

InfoWars parent company files for bankruptcy

09:00 , Oliver O'Connell

The parent company of InfoWars, the far-right outlet run by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, has filed for bankruptcy.

Free Speech Systems LLC filed for bankruptcy on Friday as Mr Jones, its founder, and the company could face as much as $150m in damages in the trial over the lies pushed by Mr Jones concerning the 2012 Sandy Hook elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.

Free Speech Systems LLC filing for bankruptcy would usually lead to the end of the trial, which is taking place in Austin, Texas, but according to a court filing, the company is planning to request a bankruptcy judge to let the trial continue.

Gustaf Kilander reports.

InfoWars parent company files for bankruptcy

Watch: Judge scolds Alex Jones for lying under oath in defamation case

07:00 , Oliver O'Connell

06:30 , Sravasti Dasgupta

After claiming that the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting was a hoax, Alex Jones changed his tune in court on Wednesday and said that the shooting was “100% real.”

“Especially since I’ve met the parents. It’s 100% real,” Jones said before the jury began determining how much he and his media company, Free Speech Systems, owe for defaming Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis whose 6-year-old son had been killed in the shooting.

Mr Heslin and Ms Lewis had said on Tuesday that an apology from Jones would not suffice and he should be held accountable for the falsehoods he spread about the shooting.

Sandy Hook parents fear for their lives says psychiatrist

05:30 , Oliver O'Connell

The parents of a Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victim live with a complex form of post-traumatic stress disorder and a constant fear that followers of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones will kill them, a psychiatrist testified Monday at Jones’ defamation trial.

Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, parents of 6-year-old Jesse Lewis, have sued Jones and his media company Free Speech Systems over the harassment and threats they and other parents say they’ve endured for years while Jones and his Infowars website claimed the 2012 attack that killed 20 first graders and six school staffers was a hoax or faked.

“The overwhelming cause of their pain is what Jones is doing,” said Roy Lubit, a forensic psychiatrist hired by the plaintiffs to review the trauma faced by the parents.

Psychiatrist says Sandy Hook parents fear for their lives

Report: Jan 6 probe to subpoena Alex Jones’ texts and emails obtained in Sandy Hook trial

04:00 , Oliver O'Connell

The January 6 committee is preparing to subpoena Alex Jones’ texts and emails that were accidentally sent to an attorney for the Sandy Hook victims, according to a report.

Attorney Mark Bankston revealed he had mistakenly received a trove of thousands of Jones’ private communications during the Infowars founder’s defamation trial on Wednesday.

Within minutes of the stunning revelation, the House committee investigating the attack on the US Capitol began preparing to subpoena the messages, a source told Rolling Stone.

Bevan Hurley reports.

Jan 6 committee to subpoena Alex Jones’ texts and emails obtained in Sandy Hook trial

Jones’ attorney mistakenly sent two years of his text messages to opposing lawyer

03:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Alex Jones’ attorney accidentally sent two years of his text messages to the lawyer representing the parents of a child killed in the Sandy Hook school shooting, a court has been told.

Mark Bankston, who represents Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis in their ongoing defamation trial against Jones, made the stunning claim during cross-examination of the Infowars founder on Wednesday.

Bevan Hurley reports.

Alex Jones’ attorney mistakenly sent two years of his text messages to rival lawyer

Watch: Sandy Hook victim’s mother confronts Alex Jones in court

02:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Jones shakes his head as his Sandy Hook shooting lies read out in court

01:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Right-wing agitator Alex Jones shook his head repeatedly as his lies about the Sandy Hook school shooting massacre were read out to a Texas jury on the first day of his defamation trial.

Graeme Massie reports.

Alex Jones shakes head as Sandy Hook shooting lies read out in court

ICYMI: Jones berates reporter as ‘pirate’ outside Sandy Hook trial

Thursday 4 August 2022 00:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones berated a reporter outside of his defamation trial for spreading false claims that the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting was staged.

“You pretend to be a journalist, and you want to look at people like me so you can say you’re the good guy,” the Infowars host told Huffington Post journalist Sebastian Murdock.

Josh Marcus reports.

Alex Jones berates reporter as ‘pirate’ outside Sandy Hook trial

Watch: Father of Sandy Hook victim testifies at Alex Jones trial

Wednesday 3 August 2022 23:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Wednesday 3 August 2022 22:46 , Oliver O'Connell

Judge Gamble tells the opposing teams that she requires one member of counsel from each side to be in the building at all times while the jury is deliberating.

The parties do not have to be present.

Jury begins deliberations

Wednesday 3 August 2022 22:39 , Oliver O'Connell

The jury has been excused to begin their deliberations and can carry on until 5pm CT (6pm ET).

They will then break for the night until 9am CT tomorrow.

Wednesday 3 August 2022 22:32 , Oliver O'Connell

The plaintiffs’ attorney Kyle Farrar is giving a final closing rebuttal.

“We’re still living Alex Jones’s conspiracy world,” he says, in which the plaintiffs are being weaponised, the jury was handpicked, and the judge is part of the Deep State.

“That’s the spin Jones wants to put on this verdict.”

“They called them [the plaintiffs] liars for 10 years to make money, and they’re calling them liars here to save money,” Mr Farrar says of the Jones defence argument to avoid a large financial compensation bill.

Mr Farrar adds that Jones’ apology is worth nothing because his attorney just said his client did nothing wrong.

Wednesday 3 August 2022 22:24 , Oliver O'Connell

The use of that poem by Martin Niemöller has understandably generated quite a reaction online.

Here it is in full:

First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

Wednesday 3 August 2022 22:12 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Reynal concedes that the jury might want to award some compensatory damages to go towards continuing mental health treatment for the plaintiffs.

In a confusing throwback to his earlier comments that InfoWars is a small platform, Mr Reynal said: “Alex Jones may not be to your particular taste, but millions of Americans tune in to be informed, entertained, have their voices heard.”

Mr Reynal then wrapped up his closing arguments with the famous quote from a Lutheran priest in the 1930s in which he recalls “First they came for the... and I did not speak out.”

The court has now gone on a short break.

Wednesday 3 August 2022 22:01 , Oliver O'Connell

Addressing the plaintiffs Mr Reynal says he hopes to God they have got some kind of closure, but then asks “what has been proven” again stressing the argument that there is insufficient evidence.

Wednesday 3 August 2022 21:59 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Reynal is arguing that there is not enough evidence to show what Jones said on InfoWars is attributable to what has happened to the plaintiffs. He stresses there was no call to action.

He goes on to blame other actors from politicians through to Megyn Kelly.

Mr Reynal then goes on to dismiss the amount of money being demanded ($150m) as unreasonable and ridiculous, even comparing it to the equivalent weight in number of elephants. He then reiterates an amount of $1.

Wednesday 3 August 2022 21:36 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Reynal characterises what happened after the tragedy at Sandy Hook as the media and politicians descending on the town like vultures.

He says his client, Jones, ran a story and made a mistake while he was going through a hard time. Mr Reynal says that story was weaponised, magnified, and amplified.

Framing Jones as the weaker party with a platform that “isn’t so big” he also says that the plaintiffs’ grief was also weaponised and that it was framed in the context that this was all Jones’ responsibility.

Video of Alex Jones host belittling jury and accusing judge of ‘rigging’ case shown in court

Wednesday 3 August 2022 21:34 , Oliver O'Connell

The Alex Jones defamation trial was shown a video of the Infowars host belittling the jury in his case and the judge being accused of “rigging” the proceedings.

The lawyer for the parents of a child killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre played the video, which saw Mr Jones say that the jury consisted of people who “don’t know what planet they’re on”.

Graeme Massie reports.

Alex Jones trial shown video of Infowars host belittling jury

Wednesday 3 August 2022 21:16 , Oliver O'Connell

Jones’ attorney Andino Reynal begins the closing argument for his client.

He says he wants to talk about actual damages based on actual evidence and not punitive damages which will be decided at a later date.

Alex Jones claims created ‘living hell’ say Sandy Hook parents

Wednesday 3 August 2022 21:05 , Oliver O'Connell

As their attorney sums up the case against Jones, here’s a review of the testimony of Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, parents of Jesse Lewis, who died aged six at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, in December 2012.

Sandy Hook parents: Alex Jones claims created 'living hell'

Wednesday 3 August 2022 20:58 , Oliver O'Connell

There is now a 1-minute break before the defence’s closing argument.

Wednesday 3 August 2022 20:57 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Farrar has wrapped his closing argument for the plaintiffs.

He argued that the jurors should consider an amount in excess of $100m.

“What does it cost Jones to steal what he stole from the plaintiffs?”

“What does it cost to destroy people’s reputations ... all to sell more prepper gear?”

“What is going to take to get Alex Jones and his company to pay for what they broke?”

He recalls Mr Heslin’s testimony in which he said that Jones had started the fight, but he intended to end it.

Alex Jones v Sandy Hook: How did we get here?

Wednesday 3 August 2022 20:50 , Oliver O'Connell

Hours after 26 people were shot and killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012, Alex Jones began spouting false claims that the massacre wasn’t real.

More than 10 years later, the far-right conspiracy theorist’s inflammatory comments have continued to haunt him as families of the shooting victims – 20 of which were young children – hold him accountable in court.

Megan Sheets and Rachel Sharp report on how Jones ended up in court.

Why is Alex Jones being sued by families of children killed in Sandy Hook massacre?

Report says Jan 6 probe to subpoena Alex Jones’ texts and emails obtained at trial

Wednesday 3 August 2022 20:34 , Oliver O'Connell

The January 6 committee is preparing to subpoena Alex Jones’ texts and emails that were accidentally sent to an attorney for the Sandy Hook victims, according to a report.

Attorney Mark Bankston revealed he had mistakenly received a trove of thousands of Jones’ private communications during the Infowars founder’s defamation trial on Wednesday.

Within a few hours, the House committee investigating the attack on the US Capitol began preparing to subpoena the messages, a source told Rolling Stone.

Bevan Hurley is tracking this breaking news story.

Jan 6 committee to subpoena Alex Jones’ texts and emails obtained in Sandy Hook trial

Closing arguments get underway

Wednesday 3 August 2022 20:11 , Oliver O'Connell

The plaintiff’s attorney is presenting their closing argument, summing up the themes of the trial and reiterating the narrative established by their testimony yesterday.

“Nobody has seen this level of this type of misinformation before,” says attorney Kyle Farrar.

“Free speech is free but you have to pay for your lies,” he adds.

“There is one truth: Jesse lived, Jesse died on 14 Dec 2012. Jesse died a hero. Jesse’s life matters. His legacy matters.”

Court resumes

Wednesday 3 August 2022 19:43 , Oliver O'Connell

Judge Gamble is reading the charge to the jury before the attorneys for Jones and the plaintiffs present their closing arguments.

She explains what jurors can or cannot do when considering the charge.

Watch: Do you know what perjury is?

Wednesday 3 August 2022 19:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Jones’ attorney mistakenly sent two years of his text messages to Sandy Hook family’s lawyer

Wednesday 3 August 2022 19:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Alex Jones’ attorney accidentally sent two years of his text messages to the lawyer representing the parents of a child killed in the Sandy Hook school shooting, a court has been told.

Mark Bankston, representing Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis in their defamation trial against Jones, made the stunning claim during cross-examination of the Infowars founder on Wednesday.

Bevan Hurley reports.

Alex Jones’ attorney mistakenly sent two years of his text messages to rival lawyer

Wednesday 3 August 2022 18:34 , Oliver O'Connell

Jones is asked whether he is aware that the jury is not being improperly influenced in any way.

“I don’t think that you are operatives or part of a false flag. I don’t think you’re bad people, I think you’re good people.”

Asked if he feels he’s getting a fair trial, he answers that he is barred from saying. Judge Gamble asks him to answer succinctly but is cut off when he describes himself as guilty.

The court breaks for lunch and with both sides resting, it is likely the case will move on to closing arguments this argument.

Alternate jurors will be released before the jury is sent out to deliberate.

Wednesday 3 August 2022 18:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Jones is asked about his comments about the jury being “blue collar”.

He says he defines blue-collar people as working men and women who keep their heads down and keep the world running and generally are not paying attention to politics.

Asked why he thought the jury was blue-collar, he begins to answer but is cut off by the judge who doesn’t think it is a good question.

On appropriate compensation, he says anything over $2m will sink the company, but he is reminded by the judge that the question is about the appropriateness and not him and his ability to pay. He says it should be whatever they think.

Wednesday 3 August 2022 18:25 , Oliver O'Connell

The jury has returned and their written questions are being asked to Jones.

Asked why he believed Sandy Hook was a conspiracy, Jones responds that he has seen so many other things in history that had been staged or completely made up. He concedes that he did use to gove overboard and believe everything was staged but claims to have been through a learning process.

In another question, he is asked about what he is going to change in terms of the way he presents news and comments. He says that he is not like the corporate media that “lies on purpose” but he hopes to be a more positive force when it comes to issues such as mass shootings. Jones also says he will take personal responsibility for employees’ actions at work. He also says he would like to invite plaintiff Scarlett Lewis on his show.

Asked if he felt that because Sandy Hook coverage was such a small percentage of the coverage aired by Infowars there should be less of a punishment, he says that no, even people who do things by accident should be held accountable and he did not consciously set out to do what he is accused of.

Wednesday 3 August 2022 17:49 , Oliver O'Connell

Jones has now finished on the stand but, as with other witnesses, the jury will return with written questions.

Wednesday 3 August 2022 17:34 , Oliver O'Connell

More messages from Jones’ phone relating to his business of selling prepackaged food show that he makes more than the 20-40 per cent profit he claims. For $110k of sales, he receives $70k of gross profit.

This translates two $100k to $200k per day and as much as $800k on a good day.

Jones says Mr Bankston is cherry-picking figures.

The purpose of this line of questioning is to establish that Jones’ claims of bankruptcy are not valid and that even after being deplatformed he continues to make money from such ventures.