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Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones has been ordered to pay almost a billion dollars for claiming the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre was a hoax.

Jones has been notorious for claiming the attack, one of the deadliest school shootings in US history, was staged by gun control activists using actors – though he has since acknowledged it was real.

But who exactly is Alex Jones and why is he infamous? Sky News takes a look at some of the right-wing personality’s most controversial statements.

Who is Alex Jones?

Alex Jones, 48, is a right-wing conservative figure hailing from Austin in Texas.

After leaving high school in 1993 he started working in cable TV, filling in for absent hosts, and became known for his conspiracy theories.

When a bomb went off in a terror attack in Oklahoma City in 1995, Jones claimed that the government was behind it.

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“I understood there’s a kleptocracy working with psychopathic governments – clutches of evil that know the tricks of control,” he said.

What is InfoWars?

In 1999 he co-founded a website called InfoWars, which became a popular online destination for fake news and conspiracy theories reportedly racking up 10 million monthly visits in 2017.

A quick look at the website – which includes the tagline “There’s a war on for your mind!” – shows wild claims about COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine.

Earlier this year the parent company of InfoWars – Free Speech Systems LLC – filed for bankruptcy as Jones faced a lawsuit brought by Sandy Hook families.

The move – described as “delaying the inevitable” by a lawyer representing families – put civil litigation on hold while the company reorganises its finances.

What happened at Sandy Hook Elementary School?

On 14 December, 2012, Adam Lanza shot and killed 20 students and six teachers in Newtown, Connecticut.

The tragedy led to an outpouring of grief at yet another mass shooting in America, but despite the lives lost it has been incredibly rare for US Congress to cooperate and pass gun control legislation.

The Sandy Hook massacre is one of the most deadly school shootings in US history.

What did Alex Jones say about Sandy Hook?

Jones has admitted calling Sandy Hook parents “crisis actors” on his show and saying the shooting was “phoney as a three-dollar bill”.

His shows had portrayed the Sandy Hook shooting as staged as part of gun control efforts.

He also said: “You’ve got parents laughing – “hahaha” – and then they walk over to the camera and go “boo hoo hoo,” and not just one but a bunch of parents doing this and then photos of kids that are still alive they said died?

“I mean, they think we’re so dumb”.

So far, courts in Texas and Connecticut have found Jones liable for defamation for his portrayal of the Sandy Hook shooting as a hoax.

His most recent court appearances have been in front of a jury in the Connecticut trial who were deciding how much he should pay.

During one of his trials, family members of the victims gave emotional testimony describing how they endured death threats, in-person harassment and abusive comments on social media. Some moved away to avoid the abuse.

Earlier this year a jury in Texas ordered Jones to pay $4.1m (£3.3m) in damages to the parents of a six-year-old boy who was killed at Sandy Hook.

What legal troubles has Alex Jones had?

As well as being sued by parents of Sandy Hook victims, Jones has a rather chequered history when it comes to legal troubles over things he has said.

In 2017 he apologised after promoting the “Pizzagate” fake story that a Washington pizza restaurant was the locale of a child sex abuse ring run by Hillary Clinton and her campaign chairman, John Podesta, the Washington Post reported.

In 2018 he was served with a lawsuit over a car attack that killed anti-racist protester Heather Heyer at the infamous Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville.

He was accused of claiming that the attack was actually staged by the CIA in order to undermine President Donald Trump.

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Soulja Boy arrested on suspected weapons charge during traffic stop

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Soulja Boy arrested on suspected weapons charge during traffic stop

Soulja Boy has been arrested and charged with possession of a firearm during a traffic stop.

The rapper, whose real name is DeAndre Cortez Way, was a passenger in the car that was stopped in the Fairfax area of Los Angeles early on Sunday morning, the LAPD said.

“A passenger was detained and police arrested DeAndre Cortez Way for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm,” the statement added.

Possessing a firearm as a convicted felon is a felony.

The 35-year-old was booked into jail in the LAPD’s Wilshire Division shortly after 6am. It is not clear if he has since been released.

Police did not provide information on what prompted the traffic stop and who else was in the vehicle with Way.

Soulja Boy is yet to publicly comment on the incident.

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Soulja Boy is best known for his 2007 hit Crank That, which topped the Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks and landed him a nomination for best rap song at the Grammys.

The rapper was arrested and charged with a felony in 2014 for carrying a loaded gun during a traffic stop in LA.

In April this year, the Chicago hip-hop artist was ordered to pay more than $4m (£3m) in damages to his former assistant after being found liable for sexually assault, as well as physically and emotionally abusing them.

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Tennessee: Man tries to detonate 14 explosive devices while being arrested

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Tennessee: Man tries to detonate 14 explosive devices while being arrested

Police in Tennessee have discovered 14 improvised explosive devices in a man’s home as they were arresting him, the local sheriff’s office said.

Officers were executing a warrant in the home of Kevin Wade O’Neal in Old Fort, about 45 miles (70km) east of Chattanooga, after he had threatened to kill public officials and law enforcement personnel in Polk County.

After arresting the 54-year-old, officers noticed “something smouldering” in the bedroom where he was found.

Kevin Wade O'Neal. Pic: Polk County Sheriff's Office
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Kevin Wade O’Neal. Pic: Polk County Sheriff’s Office

On closer inspection, they discovered an improvised explosive device and evacuated the house until bomb squad officers arrived at the scene.

Fourteen devices were found inside the property – none of which detonated.

Improvised explosive devices were found in Kevin Wade O'Neal's home. Pic: Polk County Sheriff's Office
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Improvised explosive devices were found in Kevin Wade O’Neal’s home. Pic: Polk County Sheriff’s Office

Kevin Wade O'Neal's home in Old Fort, Tennessee. Pic: Polk County Sheriff's Office
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Kevin Wade O’Neal’s home in Old Fort, Tennessee. Pic: Polk County Sheriff’s Office

O’Neal was charged with 11 counts of attempted first-degree murder, corresponding to nine officers and two other people inside the property when the suspect tried to detonate the devices.

He also faces 14 counts of prohibited weapons and one count of possession of explosive components.

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O’Neal is being held at the Polk County jail and his bond is yet to be determined.

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Trump orders two nuclear subs to be moved closer to Russia

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Trump orders two nuclear subs to be moved closer to Russia

Donald Trump says he has ordered two nuclear submarines to be positioned in the “appropriate regions” in a row with former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev.

It comes after Mr Medvedev, who is now deputy chair of Russia‘s Security Council, told the US president on Thursday to remember Moscow had Soviet-era nuclear strike capabilities of last resort.

On Friday, Mr Trump wrote on social media: “Based on the highly provocative statements of the Former President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, who is now the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, I have ordered two Nuclear Submarines to be positioned in the appropriate regions, just in case these foolish and inflammatory statements are more than just that.

“Words are very important, and can often lead to unintended consequences, I hope this will not be one of those instances. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

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Trump: ‘We’re going to protect our people’

Speaking outside the White House later in the day, Mr Trump was asked about why he had moved the submarines and replied: “We had to do that. We just have to be careful.

“A threat was made and we didn’t think it was appropriate, so I have to be very careful. So I do that on the basis of safety for our people. A threat was made by a former president of Russia and we’re going to protect our people.”

The spat between Mr Trump and Mr Medvedev came after the US president warned Russia on Tuesday it had “10 days from today” to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine or face tariffs, along with its oil buyers.

Moscow has shown no sign that it will agree to Mr Trump’s demands.

Trump’s move appears to signal a significant deterioration in relationship with Putin

Normally it’s Moscow rattling the nuclear sabres, but this time it’s Washington in what marks a dramatic escalation in Donald Trump’s war of words with the former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev.

More importantly, it appears to signal a significant deterioration in his relationship with Vladimir Putin.

The US president’s patience with the Kremlin was already at its thinnest earlier this week, when he shrank his deadline for progress towards a peace deal from 50 days to 10.

But Russia’s lack of outward concern with this stricter ultimatum – which has swung from dismissive to (in Medvedev’s case) insulting – seems to have flicked a switch.

For this is the first time Trump’s pressure on Moscow has amounted to anything more than words.

We don’t know where the subs are, or how far they had to move to get closer to Russia, but it’s an act that sits several rungs higher than the usual verbal threats to impose sanctions.

How will Russia respond? I’m not sure Vladimir Putin has ever caved to an ultimatum and I doubt he’ll start now.

But I don’t think he’ll want the situation to deteriorate further. So I suspect he’ll make another offer to the US, that’s dressed up as a concession, but in reality may prove to be anything but.

It’s a tactic that’s worked before, but the stakes have suddenly got higher.

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On Thursday, Mr Medvedev reminded Mr Trump that Russia possessed a Soviet-era automated nuclear retaliatory system – or “dead hand”.

Mr Medvedev, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was referring to a secretive semi-automated Soviet command system designed to launch Russia’s missiles if its leadership was taken out in a decapitating strike.

He made the remarks after Mr Trump told him to “watch his words” after Mr Medvedev said the US president’s threat of hitting Russia and its oil buyers with punitive tariffs was “a game of ultimatums” and added that “each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war” between Russia and the US.

Dmitry Medvedev. Pic: Reuters
Image:
Dmitry Medvedev. Pic: Reuters

Mr Medvedev served as Russia’s president from 2008 and 2012, when Mr Putin was barred from seeking a third consecutive term, but then stepped aside to let him run again.

As deputy chair of Russia’s Security Council, he has become known for his provocative and inflammatory statements since Moscow invaded Ukraine in 2022.

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