The parents led a day of deposition testimony that included the judge reprimanding the bombastic Jones for not being truthful with some of what he said under oath. Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, whose son Jesse was killed at Sandy Hook, took the witness stand Tuesday in the final day of testimony in the two-week defamation trial against Jones and the media company Free Speech Systems. They are seeking at least $150 million in damages. In a riveting exchange, Lewis spoke directly to Jones, who was sitting about 10 feet away. Earlier that day, Jones was on his talk show telling his audience that Heslin is “slow” and being manipulated by bad people. “I am a mother first and foremost and I know you are a father. My son existed,” Lewis told Jones. “I’m not deep… I know you know… And yet you’re going to walk out of this courthouse and say it again on your show.” At one point, Lewis asked Jones, “Do you think I’m an actor?” “No, I don’t think you’re an actor,” Jones replied before the judge warned him to be quiet until called to testify. Lewis continued to try to impress upon Jones that the Sandy Hook shootings and the trauma caused in the decade since were real. “It seems so incredible to me that we have to do this – that we have to plead with you, punish you – make you stop lying,” Lewis said. “I’m so happy that this day is here. I am really relieved. And I am grateful that I had to tell you all this.” Jones visibly shook his head several times while Scarlett Lewis addressed him. Heslin and Lewis are among several Sandy Hook families who have filed multiple lawsuits alleging that claims of a Sandy Hook hoax promoted by Jones led to years of abuse by Jones and his followers. Heslin and Lewis said they fear for their lives and have been confronted by strangers at home and on the street. Heslin said his house and car were shot at. The court heard a death threat was sent via phone message to another Sandy Hook family. “I can’t even describe the last nine and a half years, the living hell that I and others have had to endure because of the recklessness and negligence of Alex Jones,” Heslin said. Scarlett Lewis also described threatening emails that appeared to have revealed deep details of her personal life. “It’s fear for your life,” said Scarlett Lewis. “You don’t know what they would do.” Heslin said he didn’t know if the Sandy Hook hoax conspiracy theory was started by Jones, but it was Jones who “lighted the match and lit the fire” with an online platform and broadcast that reached millions worldwide. “What was said about me and Sandy Hook itself resonates around the world,” Heslin said. “As time went on, I really realized how dangerous it was.” Jones skipped Heslin’s morning testimony while on his show – a move Heslin dismissed as “cowardly” – but did make it to the courtroom for part of Scarlett Lewis’ testimony. He was accompanied by several private security guards. “Today is very important for me and it’s been a long time coming… to confront Alex Jones for what he said and did to me. To restore my son’s honor and legacy,” Heslin said when Jones wasn’t there. Heslin told jurors he was holding his son with a bullet hole in his head, describing the extent of the damage to his son’s body. A key part of the case is a 2017 Infowars broadcast that reported that Heslin was not holding his son. Jurors were shown a school photo of a smiling Jesse taken two weeks before he was killed. The parents did not receive the photo until after the shoot. They described how Jesse was known to tell classmates to “run!” which probably saved lives. An apology from Jones wouldn’t be good enough, the parents said. “Alex started this fight,” Heslin said, “and I’m going to finish this fight.” Jones later took the stand himself, initially combative with the judge, who had asked him to answer his lawyer’s question. Jones testified that he had long wanted to apologize to the plaintiffs. “I never intentionally tried to hurt you. I never said your name until it came to court,” Jones said. “The Internet had questions, I had questions.” The judge later sent the jurors out of the courtroom and strongly reprimanded Jones for telling jurors that he complied with the pretrial evidence collection, even though he did not, and that he is bankrupt, which has not been determined. The plaintiff’s attorneys were furious with Jones for mentioning that he is bankrupt, which they worry will cloud the jury’s decision on damages. “This is not your show,” Judge Maya Guerra Gamble told Jones. “Your beliefs do not make something true. You are under oath.” Last September, Guerra notified Jones in absentia of his failure to turn over documents requested by the Sandy Hook families. A Connecticut court issued a similar default judgment against Jones on the same grounds in a separate lawsuit brought by other Sandy Hook parents. Heslin and Lewis suffer from a form of post-traumatic stress disorder that stems from repeated trauma, similar to what soldiers in war zones or victims of child abuse have suffered, a forensic psychologist who studied their cases and met with them testified Monday. Jones has framed the lawsuit against him as an attack on his First Amendment rights. At stake in the trial is how much Jones will pay. The parents asked the jury to award $150 million in damages for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The jury will then consider whether Jones and his company will pay punitive damages. The trial is just one of the many faces of Jones. Courts in Texas and Connecticut have already found Jones liable for defamation for his portrayal of the Sandy Hook massacre as a hoax. In both states, judges entered default judgments against Jones without trial for failing to comply with court orders and turn over documents. Jones has already tried to financially protect Free Speech Systems. The company filed for federal bankruptcy protection last week. The Sandy Hook families have separately sued Jones over his financial claims, claiming the company is trying to protect millions belonging to Jones and his family through shell entities.
Associated Press writer Paul J. Weber contributed to this report.
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