Alex Jones claims a $2 million penalty for defaming Sandy Hook parents would 'sink' Infowars, but a judge cut him off
- Alex Jones said a $2 million penalty for defaming Sandy Hook families would "sink" Infowars.
- A Texas judge asked Jones how much money he believes he should forfeit as a penalty.
Far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones said any penalty for defaming Sandy Hook parents above $2 million would "sink" his website Infowars.
Travis County, Texas, District Court Judge Maya Guerra Gamble asked Jones on Wednesday amid his ongoing defamation damages trial what compensation he believed would be an appropriate amount to forfeit to Sandy Hook parents who accused him of defamation.
Guerra Gamble then interrupted Jones after he started rambling, saying he was going off-topic, and repeated her question multiple times.
"Any compensation above $2 million will sink us, and we'll be shut down," Jones said of Infowars, which he founded.
"No," Gamble responded. "Appropriate, not to you — appropriate for what happened to them," she said, referring to Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis — the parents of a Jesse Lewis, a boy killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook mass shooting.
"I think it's appropriate for whatever you decide you want to do," Jones said, to which Gamble called a "great answer."
Heslin and Lewis sued Jones for defamation after a years-long campaign where the Infowars host has falsely referred to the deadly elementary school massacre as a "giant hoax."
Attorney Mark Bankston, who represents the parents in the civil case, previously said Jones should pay $150 million for leading a "massive campaign of lies."
Jones has already been found liable for defamation in the case and three other lawsuits in Texas and Connecticut for his depiction of the rampage in which a gunman killed 20 children and six adults in December 2012.
He previously testified that Infowars' revenue for the most recent fiscal year was $70 million, and texts from his phone that were accidentally shared with Bankston revealed Infowars made up to $800,000 per day in 2018.