Infowars host Alex Jones facing two defamation lawsuits
Alex Jones, the online Infowars host, is speaking out on social media in response to two defamation lawsuits he's now facing. They were filed in Travis County on behalf of the families of two children killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, which Jones has repeatedly called a hoax.
The separate lawsuits state the plaintiffs suffered emotional distress, damage to their reputation and were exposed to public ridicule. Both are seeking more than $1 million in damages.
Since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012, families of the victims have been struggling to recover.
"He was my son, my buddy; he was my best friend. (choking up)," says Neil Heslin, father of one victim.
Neil Heslin can be heard testifying in 2013 to lawmakers in Newtown, Connecticut. He held onto a picture of his slain six-year-old son Jesse Lewis. He is one parent now claiming their pain was exacerbated by Infowars star Alex Jones. As a result, two defamation lawsuits were filed in Travis County on Monday.
"It's against human nature for a parent to ever have to bury a child and unfortunately, these parents had to. Then, for the next five to five and a half years, they've had to relive that over and over again because Infowars, which isn't a small news outlet - there's millions and millions, tens of millions view a month - keep publishing this story over and over...that they're some kind of crisis actors and that they're faking it, they made it up," says Attorney William Ogden, representing two Sandy Hook families.
Court documents state the case involving Heslin arises after Infowars accused him in 2017 of lying about whether he actually held his son's body and observed a bullet hole in his head. Heslin's attorney says it ignited the Sandy Hook conspiracy and tore open emotional wounds, besides damaging his reputation. The second lawsuit is on behalf of Leonard Pozner and Veronique De La Rosa, the parents of Noah Pozner. Sourt documents state Jones accused them of being part of a cover up. The suit claims it even led to a death threat.
"That person that did that threat, was actually convicted and is in jail for it. So it has gone beyond words. It's gone to the point where, there's nothing that they can do about it. The clients can't, they don't have a platform to come out and say he's lying," says Ogden.
FOX 7 reached out to Infowars. They directed us to a video Jones made on YouTube in response to the lawsuits.
"I ask the American public, I ask the families of the Sandy Hook victims, to actually admit that I've invited you on for years, and admit that I've said for years that I believe it really happened. That if I caused you any pain by debating both sides of it, which is our right as a first amendment nation, I'm sorry for your pain. But, this is a big public event that's been seized on politically to take our rights," says Alex Jones, Infowars host.
Many of those from Newtown, affected by the tragedy, don't buy it.
"They're taking clips from the media and they're using that footage, not only to justify their position but to nullify everyone else's position," says Cody McCubbin, former Newtown, Ct. school board member.
The plaintiffs are demanding a jury trial and requesting a response within 50 days.