{"id":5730,"date":"2026-08-21T21:44:50","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T21:44:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5730"},"modified":"2026-08-21T21:44:50","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T21:44:50","slug":"alex-jones-no-longer-on-the-hook-for-50-million-owed-to-sandy-hook-families-but-he-still-has-1-25-billion-looming-over-his-head","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5730","title":{"rendered":"Alex Jones no longer on-the-hook for $50 million owed to Sandy Hook families\u2014but he still has $1.25 billion looming over his head"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The\u00a0Infowars founder\u00a0can only be forced to pay about $6 million, the Texas Third Court of Appeals ruled in a unanimous opinion, citing state laws that limit lawsuit damages.<\/p>\n

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The ruling does not affect a separate $1.25 billion judgment against Jones in Connecticut, where he was also found liable for defaming and causing emotional distress to relatives of the 20 first-graders and six educators killed in the Newtown shooting.<\/p>\n

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The\u00a0punishing financial verdicts\u00a0against Jones and his company, Free Speech Systems, in recent years have forced him into bankruptcy, led to some of his personal property being put up for auction and led to him leaving his Infowars platform. For decades, he used the platform to push conspiracy theories about the United Nations, the federal government, gun control and more.<\/p>\n

Sandy Hook families have yet to collect any money from Jones, who has waged lengthy appeals in state and bankruptcy courts as his company faces liquidation. He remains on air after moving onto new websites and streaming platforms.<\/p>\n

Friday\u2019s ruling did not throw out the trial court\u2019s finding of defamation against Jones. Still, he called it \u201ca gigantic victory for the First Amendment,\u201d and said he will continue to appeal the case to the state Supreme Court to get the remaining damages thrown out.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI got lawyers who are good constitutional lawyers and they are not backing down,\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n

Jones has already tried to appeal the Connecticut judgment to the U.S. Supreme Court but was\u00a0denied last year.<\/p>\n

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The decision by the Texas Third Court of Appeals left intact more than $4.1 million in compensatory damages awarded by a jury to Sandy Hook parents Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis for defamation and emotional distress. But it slashed more than $45 million in additional punitive damages down to $1.5 million to comply with the state\u2019s $750,000 cap for each plaintiff.<\/p>\n

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The court found Heslin and Lewis did not show evidence that the harassment following Jones\u2019 hoax claims rose to a level that would allow them to exceed the cap. It also said the trial judge improperly allowed the parents to seek higher damages after trial.<\/p>\n

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Mark Bankston, an attorney for Heslin and Lewis in the Texas lawsuit, shrugged off the appeals court ruling as \u201cirrelevant\u201d given that Jones still faces massive financial judgments in Connecticut.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe families care not at all about this irrelevant ruling which affects only two of the 19 claims they all share. Jones still faces over a billion dollars of liability, so this changes absolutely nothing. All it does is highlight the absurdity of Texas law,\u201d Bankston said.<\/p>\n

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Newtown families harassed as Jones claimed the massacre was a hoax<\/h4>\n

Heslin and Lewis\u2019s 6-year-old son Jesse Lewis was among those killed in the Sandy Hook attack. Their lawsuit against Jones and the 2022 verdict marked the first time he was held financially liable for peddling lies about the massacre, claiming it was faked by the government to tighten gun laws.<\/p>\n

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Jones portrayed the lawsuit as an\u00a0attack on his First Amendment rights,\u00a0but conceded during the trial that\u00a0the shootings were \u201c100% real\u201d\u00a0and that he was wrong to have lied about them.<\/p>\n

At the Texas and Connecticut trials, victims\u2019\u00a0relatives testified\u00a0that Jones\u2019 followers \u2014 believing his claims that the shooting didn\u2019t happen \u2014 subjected them to death and rape threats, in-person harassment and abusive comments on social media. Jones argued there was no proof that linked him to those actions.<\/p>\n

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Heslin and Lewis told jurors that an apology wouldn\u2019t suffice and initially called on them to make Jones pay more than $150 million for the years of suffering he has put them and other Sandy Hook families through.<\/p>\n

Almost immediately after the punitive damages in Texas were announced, Jones\u2019 trial attorney predicted the award would be reduced to $1.5 million on appeal.<\/p>\n

Christopher Mattei, a lawyer for the Sandy Hook families in the Connecticut lawsuit, said Friday\u2019s ruling has no bearing on the ongoing lower court proceedings in Texas involving the liquidation of Infowars\u2019 parent company.<\/p>\n

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The Onion steps in to mock Jones and help frustrated families<\/h4>\n

Jones and his company have filed for bankruptcy, and those legal proceedings continue. The\u00a0satirical website The Onion\u00a0also moved to take over Jones\u2019 Infowars platforms and turn his bullhorn of conspiracy theories into parody sites.<\/p>\n

Jones gave up the Infowars brand in April and moved to a new location, switching his shows to new websites and posting them on his personal X account. The Onion, meanwhile, has set up its own Infowars webpage on its website, running videos of shows parodying Jones.<\/p>\n

A proposed licensing deal that would give The Onion temporary authority to use Infowars\u2019 trademarks, copyrights and intellectual property has been put on hold because the liquidation proceedings have been stayed during Jones\u2019 appeals.<\/p>\n

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In November 2024, the Chicago-based satirical outlet was named the winner of a bankruptcy court auction of the assets of Infowars\u2019 parent company, Free Speech Systems, aimed at helping pay some of the defamation judgments. A federal judge\u00a0overturned the auction results, citing problems with the process and The Onion\u2019s bid.<\/p>\n

___ This story has been corrected to show that Jones is still liable for $4.1 million in compensatory damages in addition to $1.5 million in punitive damages.<\/p>\n

Read more Harry and Meghan\u2019s homecoming comes with a multimillion-dollar tax catch\u2014waiting four years could have shielded their $60 million fortune<\/a><\/p>\n

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___ Dave Collins contributed from Hartford, Connecticut.<\/p>\n

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