The US Supreme Court has declined to hear a request from Alex Jones, a right-wing conspiracy theorist, to overturn a defamation judgment amounting to nearly $1.5 billion. This judgment was awarded in 2022 following Jones’s claims that the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting—resulting in the deaths of 20 children and six educators—was a hoax.
To fulfill the payment mandated by the court, Jones faced the prospect of selling his Infowars media company to the satirical news site The Onion. He argued before the Supreme Court that such a sale would inflict irreparable harm on both him and his audience, which numbers around 30 million. As of now, Jones has not compensated any of the families of the Sandy Hook victims.
The Supreme Court did not provide reasons for its decision to deny Jones’s appeal. His legal team contended that he should receive First Amendment protections comparable to those afforded to journalists. Jones characterized the financial implications of the judgment as excessively punitive, describing it as a “financial death penalty” imposed on a media figure whose broadcasts reach a significant audience.
While a bankruptcy judge previously blocked the sale of Infowars to The Onion, the company may become available for sale again shortly, potentially allowing The Onion another opportunity to bid. Legal actions against Jones have intensified following his liability verdicts for defamation and emotional distress related to his statements about the Sandy Hook tragedy. After a jury in Connecticut ruled against him, Jones sought bankruptcy protection in Texas, where Infowars was put up for auction to satisfy the claims of the Sandy Hook families seeking to enforce the judgment. During the proceedings, Jones acknowledged that the shooting was “100% real,” countering his prior assertions that it was a staged event meant to promote gun control.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5ypjjxd40qo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss