Comment The legal team representing Infowars founder Alex Jones accidentally sent the contents of his cellphone to a lawyer representing the parents of a child killed in the Sandy Hook mass shooting, the parents’ lawyer said in court Wednesday. The apparent gaffe, revealed by lawyer Mark Bankston as Jones took the stand in the damages phase of his libel trial, revealed previously unknown texts about the massacre and financial information to Infowars. Bankston, who represents Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, parents of 6-year-old Jesse Lewis, told the far-right purveyor of conspiracy theories that his lawyers “messed up and sent me an entire digital copy of your entire cellphone.” “And that’s how I know you lied to me when you said you didn’t have text messages about Sandy Hook,” Bankston said. “This is your ‘Perry Mason’ moment,” Jones replied, a reference to the fictional lawyer famous for his 11th hour courtroom stunner. “I gave them my phone.” Bankston noted that Jones had testified under oath that he personally searched his cell phone for Sandy Hook text messages and could find none. Bankston asked, “You know what perjury is, right? I just want to make sure you know before we go any further.” Jones denied lying, saying, “I’m not a tech guy.” The dramatic moment came as Bankston cross-examined Jones shortly before closing arguments in the damages phase of the defamation trial that began last week in an Austin courtroom. Heslin and Lewis sued in 2018 over the far-right media personality’s relentlessly false claims that the Sandy Hook school shooting was a “giant hoax.” Sandy Hook parents confront Alex Jones, say false allegations created ‘living hell’ After years of Jones refusing to comply with court orders and turn over documents and evidence in lawsuits, District Judge Maya Guerra Gamble of Travis County, Texas, in September found Jones liable for all damages. It entered a default judgment against Jones, accusing him and his website’s parent company, Free Speech Systems, of “willfully disobeying” court requests by refusing to hand over documents related to the various lawsuits against him. While confronting Jones about the newly discovered text messages in court Wednesday, Bankston showed one of them, in which an editor working for Jones sent him a screenshot of an Infowars article alleging a hospital was using dummies in a ward coronavirus. The editor, Paul Watson, wrote that it “makes us look ridiculous” and added: “Sandy Hook all over again.” Jones texted back, “Got it.” Bankston also asked about his emails. He noted that Jones had testified that he had nothing on Sandy Hook because he does not use email. Jones told the court, “Yes. I personally don’t go online and sit there and use email. I’ve never sent an email myself. Because I don’t like it. I can not stand it. There are too many of them.” The lawyer then showed emails he said Jones had sent to lawyers, staff and others about business operations. Alex Jones, seconds after being told his lawyer accidentally sent a huge cache of texts to the lawyer for the Sandy Hook families: “This is your Perry Mason moment” pic.twitter.com/f6byn6N6VA — Bill Grueskin (@BGrueskin) August 3, 2022 He zeroed in on messages about Infowars’ financial information, which he said contradicted Jones’ previous statements about the amount of money he made. Bankston pointed out that Jones had claimed to have lost millions due to the platform and was making up to $200,000 a day. But, he said, messages on Jones’ phone suggested Infowars brought in as much as $800,000 on some days. If it kept up that pace, he said, it would reach about $300 million a year. Jones claimed the numbers were handpicked. At one point, as Bankston examined the contents of the phone, he scoffed, “This is ridiculous.” Gamble told jurors that what attorneys say is not evidence, adding that without evidence, it is not yet known whether the phone’s contents were given to the Sandy Hook parents’ attorney by mistake. “But what we do know,” the judge said, “is that it was not properly turned over when it should have been.” Despite admitting in his deposition Wednesday that the 2012 shooting was not a hoax but “100 percent real,” Jones continued to defend himself against critics of his talk show while trying to protect his finances. assets from potential catastrophic damages that could be imposed. to the plaintiffs. Jones last week filed for emergency bankruptcy for Free Speech Systems, just months after Infowars and two other business ventures filed for bankruptcy. Alex Jones’ media company files for bankruptcy amid Sandy Hook trial The families said Jones’ admissions and apologies were not enough. they are seeking at least $150 million in damages. A hefty compensation payment would add to a string of legal losses for Jones and Infowars, after parents of Sandy Hook victims began filing defamation lawsuits in 2018 after Jones repeatedly made claims on his show that the shooting was a hoax and the victims were “crisis actors”. Judges in Connecticut and Texas entered default judgments against Jones in multiple lawsuits. Jones has been sued by at least nine Sandy Hook families.
