Fighting back tears at times, Heslin told the jury that Jones, through the conspiratorial media organization Infowars, had “tarnished the honor and legacy” of his son. Heslin said he couldn’t “even begin to describe the last nine and a half years of hell” he’s endured because of Jones. “There has to be a strong deterrent to him from peddling this propaganda,” Heslin said, adding that through his testimony he wanted to “restore my credibility, my reputation and Jesse’s legacy that he worth”. As Heslin testified, a television screen in court showed a photo of his murdered son, six-year-old Jesse Lewis. Jones, who is expected to testify in his own defense later Tuesday, was absent from the courtroom during Heslin’s testimony and the first part of Lewis’ testimony. Heslin called this absence “an act of cowardice.” “I’ve been here a week and a half and [during] my last testimony, Mr. Alex Jones does not have the courage to sit in front of me or face me,” Heslin said. An attorney representing Heslin and Lewis told CNN that the two were to be held in isolation and under the protection of professional security during the trial. Heslin also told the stand that the lie Jones pushed “resonates around the world” and that he has realized “how dangerous” it is. Heslin described repeatedly confronting those who believed Jones over the past ten years, saying such interactions occur “to this day.” “My life has been threatened,” Heslin said. “I fear for my life. I fear for my safety and my family’s safety and their lives.”

“Jesse was real. I’m a real mom

In a remarkable moment in court, Lewis spoke directly to Jones, who was in the courtroom after the trial ended for lunch. He said he wanted to address Jones face to face. “Jesse was real,” Lewis told Jones. “I’m a real mom.” Lewis told Jones that he doesn’t think he actually believed the lies he pushed about Sandy Hook. “That’s the problem, I know you know it,” Lewis told Jones. “But you keep saying it. Why? Why? For money?” Lewis said “having a six-year-old son shot in the forehead” while at school is “excruciating pain.” “And then for someone to perpetuate a lie that it was a hoax, that it didn’t happen, that it was a false flag and that I was an actor — You think I’m an actor?” Louis asked. Lewis told jurors that monetary damages were appropriate in the case because she does not believe Jones will ever stop. “There was no sincere apology,” he said. “But if there ever was, I liken it to being in a car accident and you pass somebody and you cause massive bodily harm and you look at that person on the ground and you say, ‘I’m so sorry, I’m sorry I’m sorry, I’m not responsible for any from the damage I just caused. But I’m sorry.” That’s how I see it.” Regardless, Lewis said she doesn’t think Jones understands the implications of “going on the air with a huge audience and lying and calling it a hoax.” “It seems so incredible that we have to do this,” Lewis told Jones. “That we have to beg you — not just plead with you, punish you — make you stop lying…It’s surreal what’s going on in here.” Lewis also testified in court that she was harassed and received threats on her life, including to her home, which she said reopened the wounds surrounding her son’s murder. “Fear and anxiety and insecurity … keep me from healing,” Lewis said. “It definitely negatively affects the healing process.” Lewis described the Sandy Hook conspiracy theories as “deeply disturbing.” “I feel compromised,” Lewis said, describing how he feels about her personal safety. Roy Lubitt, a forensic psychiatrist hired to examine Heslin and Lewis, testified in court Monday how terrified and concerned for their personal safety the two parents are. Lubitt told the court that Lewis and Heslin “are very, very scared.” When asked to specify who they were afraid of, Lubit replied: “Some Jones follower was trying to kill them.” Lubitt explained that Lewis sleeps with a gun, knife and pepper spray in her night stand. Lubit added that she won’t even turn on the air conditioning during hot days for fear of not being able to hear an intruder coming to hurt her. Lewis testified Tuesday that she owns a gun to keep her other son safe, telling jurors she failed to keep her one son safe and will do everything in her power to make sure he doesn’t. no harm befalls her other child.

“This is not your show”

Jones took the stand in the afternoon, telling the court he felt “good” about being given the chance to fend off the plaintiffs and the media. From the stand, Jones told Heslin and Lewis, “I never intentionally tried to hurt you.” Jones said “the Internet had a lot of questions” about the Sandy Hook shooting, as did he. Jones maintained that he was just “trying to find out what really happened.” After the jury had left the courtroom after Jones’ testimony, Mark Bankston, the plaintiffs’ attorney, accused Jones and his attorney, Federico Antino Reynal, of trying to “poison” the trial. Bankston said he will file a motion for sanctions against Jones and Reynal. Bankston specifically said Jones violated court orders when he tried to discuss his net worth from the stand. “Mr. Jones did this on purpose in violation of your order to try to poison this damages verdict, to try to tell this jury that he’s broke, and he’s not, and that’s in violation of your order Bankston told the judge. Judge Maya Guerra Gamble said she will hear any formally filed motions for sanctions against Jones and Reynal after the trial concludes. But Gamble warned Jones about his behavior and said he had already broken his oath to tell the truth twice. “Mr. Jones, you can’t tell this jury that you complied with discovery. That’s not true. You can’t say that again. You can’t tell this jury that you’re broke. That’s also not true,” said Gumble. “You are already under oath to tell the truth,” Gamble added. “You have already broken that oath twice today, in these two examples alone. It seems absurd to instruct you again that you must tell the truth while testifying. Yet here I am again.” “This isn’t your show,” Gamble added. Jones tried to tell Gumble that he believed he was telling the truth. “You believe everything you say is true, but your beliefs don’t make something true,” Gamble said. “That’s what we do here. Just because you claim to believe something is true doesn’t make it true. It doesn’t protect you. It’s not allowed. You’re under oath. That means things actually have to be true when you say them.” At the end of the court proceedings, Lewis went up to Jones and gave him a bottle of water because he had complained that he had trouble speaking due to a torn larynx. Jones began talking to Lewis and Heslin, and the exchange with Heslin became heated. A lawyer for Heslin and Lewis interjected, telling Jones as he escorted his clients out of the courtroom: “That’s not even a thought. It’s not like that.” Jones yelled, “Why because you can’t feed them fake videos anymore?”

Jones has been critical of the court proceedings, claiming last week that he was being tried in Texas before a “kangaroo court.” Infowars also published content attacking the judges overseeing the cases in visceral terms. Jones’ media company, Free Speech Systems, which is the company that manages Infowars, filed for bankruptcy on Friday. Jury selection for a similar trial involving the Jones and Sandy Hook families began Tuesday in Connecticut, where Jones was also found liable for damages earlier this year. But jury selection was put on hold after Jones’ attorneys filed papers in federal court to remove the case for the time being because of Free Speech Systems’ bankruptcy. Attorneys representing some Sandy Hook families have accused Jones of withdrawing assets from Free Speech Systems in recent years as part of an effort to protect himself from potential judgments he may be ordered to pay. One of the lawyers, Avi Moshenberg, told CNN on Tuesday that the bankruptcy filed by Free Speech Systems indicated that $62 million in assets had been withdrawn from the company in 2021 and 2022. “If you look at the bankruptcy filing, which led to the bankruptcy, Alex Jones, the sole owner [of Free Speech Systems], took in $62 million in sweepstakes in 2021 and 2022,” Moshenberg told CNN. That’s why the company has few assets.” An attorney representing Jones did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday morning. But a hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, at which W. Marc Schwartz, the chief restructuring officer for Free Speech Systems, is expected to testify. CNN’s Sonia Moghe contributed to this report.