On the morning of November 15th, right-wing extremist media star Alex Jones was named liable in a lawsuit involving the Sandy Hook Shootings. Jones had previously spread false theories about the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. The tragedy was a grave landmark in history, killing twenty first-graders and six teachers. Jones utilized his media platform popularly known as Infowars to spread conspiracies that the event was a hoax. He insisted that the parents of the victims were performing as paid actors in a scenario promoting gun control.

Jones fought to deny the allegations and argued that his claims were protected under first amendment rights. The families initiating the lawsuits have since claimed that fans of Jones have been subjecting them to harassment and death threats.

Extreme, time-consuming efforts to get Jones to comply have granted multiple family members of the victims reward in lawsuits against both Jones and Infowars. Judge Barbara Bellis ultimately issued a default ruling due to Jones’ inability to produce documents that show how he had profited from spreading misinformation. The amount owed to the families of the victims is in the hands of the jury.

Shortly after the Judge’s decision, Jones went on Infowars with claims that he was deprived of a fair trial.