A day after he was ordered to pay $4 million in compensatory damages to the parents of a 6-year-old boy who lost his life in the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, conservative commentator and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones was ordered by the same jury to pay the plaintiffs at least $45 million in punitive damages, Austin-based media outlets reported.
Austin CBS affiliate KEYE reported that the amount was fewer than the $150 million award Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, who were the parents of late Sandy Hook student Jesse Lewis, requested. Jesse was among the 26 people fatally shot on Dec. 14, 2012. The 48-year-old Jones repeatedly claimed the incident at Sandy Hook was a hoax, prompting Heslin and Lewis to pursue legal action against him.
KEYE reported that Jones, who is best known as the host of InfoWars, told jurors during the trial that any award exceeding $2 million would deal a devastating blow to his company, Free Speech Systems, which sought bankruptcy protection at the beginning of the trial.
According to the station, the complainants’ legal counsel sought a monetary amount that they feel would cripple InfoWars.
“You have the ability to stop this man from ever doing it again,” Wesley Ball, one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs, said, KEYE reported. “Send the message to those who desire to do the same: Speech is free. Lies, you pay for."
Austin NBC affiliate KXAN reported that the jury reached a unanimous decision on the $45.2 million award.
The $4.1 million in compensatory damages were awarded to the plaintiffs for their defamation and mental anguish claims while the $45 million – of which $20.5 million each will be awarded to Heslin and Lewis – was for the deliberate infliction of emotional distress, per the station.
Plaintiffs’ attorney Mark Bankston said that the verdict restored his clients’ son’s legacy, KXAN reported.
Citing The Associated Press (AP) and Austin ABC affiliate KVUE, Austin Journal reported that Jones faces more legal battles pertaining to his purported treatment of Sandy Hook victims’ families, with the Austin verdicts likely to serve as benchmarks for those cases.
The shooting is considered the worst attack on a school in U.S. history.