A Connecticut judge is ordering Infowars host Alex Jones to put his money where his mouth is.
A recent ruling handed down by Connecticut Superior Court Barbara Bellis called out Jones for his “bad faith” attempt to avoid sitting for a deposition in the ongoing Sandy Hook lawsuit. Jones spent years peddling baseless conspiracy theories about the tragic school shooting of 20 children and six educators that happened in 2012. Among his claims, Jones said the shooting was staged by the government as an excuse for Democrats to confiscate citizens’ guns and that the families of the victims were paid actors. After years of threats from Infowars listeners, the families of some of the victims banded together to bring a lawsuit against Jones, one that’s dragged on for years thanks to his attempts to avoid turning over documents and evidence requested by the court.
Judge Bellis has ordered Jones to cough up $25,ooo for the first weekday he fails to appear for testimony in the case. For every day after, that fine will increase by $25,000. If Jones fails to testify before April 15th, the judge has threatened further sanctions that would seriously damage his ability to defend his case in court.
“The plaintiffs subjected themselves to hours and hours of painful questioning by Mr. Jones’s lawyers — and Mr. Jones plays sick when it is his turn to tell the truth under oath,” the families’ motion for contempt, which led to the judge’s decision, read.
It’s clear that Jones has the money to pay too since he apparently offered to pay a settlement of $120,000 to each plaintiff if the case was dropped. Clearly, the victims’ families aren’t interested in a pay-out, but we’re pretty sure the Connecticut legal system will happily take Mr. Jones’ “hard-earned” cash.
(Via The New York Times)