Alex Jones: US conspiracy theorist ordered to pay $965m to Sandy Hook massacre victims he defamed
A jury has ordered conspiracy theorist Alex Jones to pay $965m in damages to families of those killed in the Sandy Hook school shooting.
After a gunman killed 20 children and six members of staff at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut in December 2012, Jones accused bereaved relatives of being actors who had faked the massacre.
Those giving tearful testimony in a state court included the families of five pupils and three teachers who were killed. An FBI agent who was among the first responders also took part in the legal action.
Some of them hugged after the verdict was delivered. Jones was not present, but video from the courtroom was played on a split screen during his show on his Infowars website.
During closing arguments in the defamation case, lawyers for the plaintiffs said Jones had used lies about the shooting to drive traffic to Infowars and boost sales of various products it offered.
Jones described the case as a “kangaroo court,” mocked the judge, called the plaintiffs’ lawyer an ambulance chaser and said the case was an affront to free speech.
But lawyer Chris Mattei said the families had endured a decade-long campaign of harassment and death threats by Jones’s followers.
“Every single one of these families (was) drowning in grief, and Alex Jones put his foot right on top of them,” he told jurors.
The daughter of Sandy Hook principal Dawn Hochsprung, who was among the victims, testified that people had sent rape threats to her house.
Mark Barden said conspiracy theorists had urinated on the grave of his 7-year-old son, Daniel, and threatened to dig up the coffin.
Bill Sherlach, front right, whose wife Mary was killed, and other plaintiffs and their lawyers arriving at court on Wednesday
Jones’s lawyer, Norman Pattis, claimed during his closing argument that the plaintiffs had shown little evidence of quantifiable losses.
“This is not a case about politics,” Mr Pattis said. “It’s about how much to compensate the plaintiffs.”
Jones has now acknowledged that the shooting did take place.
But he railed against “liberal” critics during the trial and refused to apologise to the families.
In a similar case in August, another jury found that Jones and his company must pay $49.3 million to Sandy Hook parents. That case was held in Austin, Texas, where Infowars is based.
Jones also faces a third trial, again in Texas, around the turn of the year.
It is unclear how much he can afford to pay. During the trial in August, he said he could not afford a judgment that exceeded $2m.
However, an economist who testified in Austin said Jones and his company were worth as much as $270m.
Donald Trump could meet Vladimir Putin in person as early as next week to discuss a ceasefire in Ukraine, a White House official has said.
They said the meeting would be conditional on the Russian president meeting his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Sky News’s US partner network NBC News reported.
It came days before the White House’s deadline for Russia to reach a peace deal with Ukraine or face severe economic penalties, which could also target countries buying its oil.
Asked during a news conference at the White House if the talks would take place, Mr Trump said: “There’s a very good prospect that they will.”
He said it had not been determined where the talks would take place, but added: “We had some very good talks with President Putin today.”
However, he said: “I’ve been disappointed before with this one.”
Asked if Mr Putin made any kind of concession to lead to the development, Mr Trump did not give much away, but added: “We’ve been working on this a long time. There are thousands of young people dying, mostly soldiers, but also, you know, missiles being hit into Kyiv and other places.”
More tariffs ‘could happen’
Mr Trump also said he could announce further tariffs on China similar to the 25% he announced on India over its purchases of Russian oil.
“Could happen,” he said, after saying he expected to announce more secondary sanctions intended to pressure Russia into ending its war with Ukraine.
Earlier, he imposed an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods, on top of a previous 25% tariff, over its continued purchases of Russian oil.
India’s foreign ministry spokesperson said the additional tariffs were “unfair, unjustified and unreasonable”.
Vladimir Putin welcomes Steve Witkoff during a meeting in Moscow. Pic: Sputnik/Reuters
It came after Mr Putin held talks with Mr Trump‘s special envoy Steve Witkoff in Moscow, with the meeting lasting around three hours.
In a post on Truth Social, Mr Trump said Mr Witkoff “had a highly productive meeting” with Mr Putin in which “great progress was made”.
He said he had updated America’s European allies, and they will work towards an end to the Russia-Ukraine war “in the days and weeks to come”.
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Correspondents in Washington and Moscow break down a busy day of diplomacy
‘The war must end’
Mr Zelenskyy later said he and Mr Trump spoke on the phone after the meeting. He said “European leaders also participated in the conversation” and “we discussed what was said in Moscow”.
He added: “Our common position with our partners is absolutely clear: The war must end. We all need lasting and reliable peace. Russia must end the war that it started.”
Mr Zelenskyy later said: “It seems that Russia is now more inclined to agree to a ceasefire.”
He added that the pressure on Moscow “is working”, without elaborating, and stressed it was important to make sure Russia does not “deceive us or the United States” when it comes to “the details” of a potential agreement.
America’s vaccine-sceptic health secretary has announced $500m (£375.8m) worth of cuts to their development in the country.
The US health department is cancelling contracts and pulling funding for jabs to fight viruses like COVID-19 and the flu, it was announced on Tuesday.
Robert F Kennedy Jr, known as RFK Jr, said 22 projects developing mRNA vaccines will be halted. It is the latest in a series of decisions to reduce US vaccine programmes.
Read more: Who is Donald Trump’s health chief?
The health secretary has fired the panel that makes vaccine recommendations, reduced recommendations for COVID-19 shots, and refused to endorse vaccines despite a worsening measles outbreak.
RFK Jr claims the US will now prioritise “safer, broader vaccine strategies, like whole-virus vaccines and novel platforms that don’t collapse when viruses mutate”.
Responding to the announcement of cuts, Mike Osterholm, a University of Minnesota expert on infectious diseases and pandemic preparations, said: “I don’t think I’ve seen a more dangerous decision in public health in my 50 years in the business.”
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Is US politics fuelling a deadly measles outbreak?
Dr Paul Offit, a vaccine expert at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said RFK Jr’s move was short-sighted and that mRNA vaccines “certainly saved millions of lives”, including during the pandemic.
MRNA vaccines work by delivering a snippet of genetic code into the body that triggers an immune response, rather than introducing a real version of the virus.
According to the UK Health Security Agency, the “leading advantage of mRNA vaccines is that they can be designed and produced more quickly than traditional vaccines”.
Moderna, which was studying a combo mRNA shot that can tackle COVID and flu for the US health department, previously said it believed mRNA could speed up production of flu jabs compared with traditional vaccines.
Read more from Sky News:
Harry criticises report into charity
Reeves told to find ‘substantial’ tax rises
A COVID-19 vaccine during the pandemic. File pic: PA
Scientists are also exploring how mRNA could be used in cancer immunotherapies and in other illnesses.
At the White House earlier this year, billionaire tech entrepreneur Larry Ellison praised mRNA for its potential to treat cancer.
RFK Jr touts ‘effective’ alternative
The health department said the abandoned mRNA projects signal a “shift in vaccine development priorities.”
“Let me be absolutely clear, HHS supports safe, effective vaccines for every American who wants them,” Mr Kennedy said in a statement.
Later, he said work is underway on an alternative – a “universal vaccine” that mimics “natural immunity”.
“It could be effective – we believe it’s going to be effective – against not only coronaviruses, but also flu,” he said.
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