An Austin jury determined on Thursday that conservative commentator and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones must pay over $4 million in compensatory damages to the parents of a six-year-old boy who lost his life in the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, Austin NBC affiliate KXAN reported.
KXAN reported that Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis sued the 48-year-old Jones, who is best known as the host of InfoWars, for defamation and mental anguish. Heslin and Lewis were parents to Jesse Lewis, who was among the 26 people fatally shot on Dec. 14, 2012.
Jones repeatedly claimed the incident at Sandy Hook was a hoax, prompting Heslin and Lewis to pursue legal action against him.
The jury isn’t done yet as its next task is to figure out how much in punitive damages Jones should pay the complainants, KXAN reported.
According to the station, Heslin and Lewis requested the jury to consider a $150 million award.
KXAN reported that the plaintiffs’ attorney, Mark Bankston, lauded what he described as “a big verdict.”
“It’s been a long journey, and it’s really nice to say to able to turn and look at my clients and say he can’t get off scot-free for this,” Bankston told the station.
An Associated Press (AP) report that was ran by Austin ABC affiliate KVUE said that a Connecticut judge ruled against Jones in a similar case.
The Austin verdict could be a benchmark for other cases he’s implicated in, per the AP.
During the trial, Jones admitted that the shooting was “100% real” after initially arguing the suit infringed on his First Amendment rights, with the plaintiffs demanding he suffer financially for his actions against them, according to the report.
KXAN reported that the jury could reach a decision on the punitive damages on Friday.