Jurors began deliberating around 12:30 p.m. CT on Friday after Judge Maya Guerra Gamble reminded them that in a default judgment against him Jones had already been found liable for defamation and “intentional infliction of emotional distress” against Lewis’ parents, Scarlett Lewis and Neil Heslin. In an emotional closing argument Friday, Lewis and Heslin’s attorney, Wesley Todd Ball, told the jury: “We’re asking you to send a very simple message, and that is, stop Alex Jones. Stop monetizing misinformation and lies. Please.” Ball urged jurors to “deter Alex Jones from doing this awful thing again” and “deter others who might want to step into his shoes”. Jones’ attorney, Federico Antino Reynal, argued for a much lower amount, suggesting jurors should multiply Jones’ alleged hourly earnings of $14,000 by the 18 hours Jones said he spoke about Sandy Hook on Infowars, for an amount about a quarter of a million dollars. On Thursday, in the first phase of the trial, a jury awarded the parents $4.1 million in damages, far less than the $150 million the parents’ lawyers had sought. In his closing remarks, Ball thanked the jury for their decision to award the $4.1 million, saying he had already made a huge difference in the parents’ lives, and asked them to compensate enough to bring the total to $150 million . Punitive damages are a form of punishment for the defendant’s conduct. Jones, head of the Infowars conspiracy media, has repeatedly lied about the Sandy Hook massacre. It spawned conspiracy theories about the victims and their families, prompting multiple defamation lawsuits. He has since admitted that the mass shooting took place. Jones claimed in his deposition that a jury award of just $2 million would ruin him financially. But on Friday morning jurors heard testimony about Jones’ wealth from an economist, Bernard Pettingill, Jr., who estimated that Jones has a net worth of between $135 million and $270 million. Pettingill, Jr., who reviewed years of records for Jones’ Free Speech Systems and Infowars, said Jones used a series of shell companies to hide his money. Jones used two large loans to make it look like he was broke when he really wasn’t, Pettingill, Jr. testified. “Alex Jones knows where the money is, he knows where that money went and he knows that he will ultimately benefit from that money,” Pettingill, Jr. said. After one of the jurors asked about the difference between Jones’ money and his company’s money, Pettingill, Jr. he said “you can’t separate Alex Jones from the companies. He is the companies.” Jones “valued money,” he added, even suggesting that Jones could teach a college course on his techniques. Jones’ scathing rants at Infowars have, for many years, been paired with advertisements for supplements, documentaries, and other products sold by Infowars. Pettingill, Jr. said the money came in, tracing nine different companies owned by Jones. “He’s a very successful man, he’s put out some hate speech and some misinformation, but he’s made a lot of money and cashed it in,” Pettingill, Jr. said. at the kiosk. “My take on him is that he didn’t ride a wave, he created the wave.” Jones testified earlier this week about his alleged financial problems after social media giants like Facebook and Twitter banned his content from their platforms. “I remember him saying that, but the records don’t reflect that,” Pettingill, Jr. said. During closing arguments, Ball argued that Jones has even more money stashed elsewhere and argued that $4.1 million was a drop in Jones’ proverbial bucket. “It’s probably already come back in donations” from fans, Ball said.
title: “Alex Jones On Trial Jury Finds Infowars Founder Must Pay 45.2 Million In Punitive Damages To Sandy Hook Parents " ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-20” author: “Julia White”
Jurors began deliberating around 12:30 p.m. CT on Friday, after Judge Maya Guerra Gamble reminded them that in a default judgment against him Jones had already been found liable for defamation and “intentional infliction of emotional distress” against Lewis and Heslin. In an emotional closing argument Friday, Lewis and Heslin’s attorney, Wesley Todd Ball, told the jury: “We’re asking you to send a very simple message, and that is, stop Alex Jones. Stop monetizing misinformation and lies. Please.” Jones’ attorney, Antino Reynal, immediately raised the issue of Texas law and the amount of punitive damages in court and then, after the proceedings, repeated it while speaking outside the courtroom. “We think the verdict was too high. As far as punitive damages go, Texas law caps them at $750,000 per plaintiff, so that verdict today is $1.5 million in punitive damages. Alex Jones will be on the air today , he’ll be on the air tomorrow , he’ll be on the air next week. He’ll continue to do his job holding the power structure accountable. That’s our only statement,” Reynal said after court. Judge Gamble acknowledged Raynal’s plea in court, but did not immediately rule on it. “So we have laws in Texas where we claim to trust our juries and then we don’t trust our juries, and that’s true,” Gamble said at the time. “And I’m sure the ruling will properly reflect Texas law in that regard, so you don’t have to worry about that.” CNN has reached out to an attorney for the plaintiffs for comment on Reynal’s argument. During closing arguments, Ball had urged jurors to “deter Alex Jones from doing this awful thing again” and “deter others who might want to step into his shoes.” Reynal argued for a much lower figure, suggesting jurors should multiply Jones’ alleged hourly earnings of $14,000 by the 18 hours Jones said he spoke about Sandy Hook on Infowars by about a quarter of a million dollars . On Thursday, in the first phase of the trial, a jury awarded the parents $4.1 million in damages, far less than the $150 million the parents’ lawyers had sought. In his closing remarks, Ball thanked the jury for their decision to award the $4.1 million, saying he had already made a huge difference in the parents’ lives, and asked them to compensate enough to bring the total to $150 million . Punitive damages are a form of punishment for the defendant’s conduct. Jones, head of the Infowars conspiracy media, has repeatedly lied about the Sandy Hook massacre. It spawned conspiracy theories about the victims and their families, prompting multiple defamation lawsuits. He has since admitted that the mass shooting took place. Jones claimed in his deposition that a jury award of just $2 million would ruin him financially. But on Friday morning jurors heard testimony about Jones’ wealth from an economist, Bernard Pettingill, Jr., who estimated that Jones has a net worth of between $135 million and $270 million. Pettingill, Jr., who reviewed years of records for Jones’ Free Speech Systems and Infowars, said Jones used a series of shell companies to hide his money. Jones used two large loans to make it look like he was broke when he really wasn’t, Pettingill, Jr. testified. “Alex Jones knows where the money is, he knows where that money went and he knows that he will ultimately benefit from that money,” Pettingill, Jr. said. After one of the jurors asked about the difference between Jones’ money and his company’s money, Pettingill, Jr. he said “you can’t separate Alex Jones from the companies. He is the companies.” Jones “valued money,” he added, even suggesting that Jones could teach a college course on his techniques. Jones’ scathing rants at Infowars have, for many years, been paired with advertisements for supplements, documentaries, and other products sold by Infowars. Pettingill, Jr. said the money came in, tracing nine different companies owned by Jones. “He’s a very successful man, he’s put out some hate speech and some misinformation, but he’s made a lot of money and cashed it in,” Pettingill, Jr. said. at the kiosk. “My take on him is that he didn’t ride a wave, he created the wave.” Jones testified earlier this week about his alleged financial problems after social media giants like Facebook and Twitter banned his content from their platforms. “I remember him saying that, but the records don’t reflect that,” Pettingill, Jr. said. During closing arguments, Ball argued that Jones has even more money stashed elsewhere and argued that $4.1 million was a drop in Jones’ proverbial bucket. “It’s probably already come back in donations” from fans, Ball said.
