Jones was ordered to pay a cumulative $75,000 in fines after missing two consecutive depositions.
Infowars host Alex Jones will recover the $75,000 he was fined after being held in contempt of court for missing several consecutive deposition dates in a defamation lawsuit filed by families of victims of the Sandy Hook shooting.
According to NBC News, after Jones missed two depositions in March, he did eventually offer two days of testimony.
As LegalReader.com has reported before, the families of eight victims—as well as an F.B.I. agent—have filed suit against the conspiracy theorist, claiming he defamed them by telling Infowars fans that the Sandy Hook shooting was staged.
After Jones publicly claimed that the massacre was a “false-flag” to limit Americans’ Second Amendment rights, the victims’ families say they were harassed and subjected to death threats.
While Jones has since admitted that the shooting was “real,” he still maintains the killings were pre-meditated by nefarious actors.
Last year, however, a federal judge found Jones liable for damages in the lawsuit after he failed to meet certain legal filing deadlines.
Jones tried to evade further depositions in March, with his attorney telling the court that the Infowars host was suffering from an “undisclosed” illness that prevented him from giving testimony.
However, Judge Barbara Bellis observed that Jones—who said he was too sick to go to an Austin, Texas, court—was still making appearances on his podcast.
After Jones failed to appeal for two consecutive deposition dates, Bellis found him in contempt of court and detailed a progressive fine schedule: if Jones missed his next appointment, he would be fined $25,000, and then $50,000 for the day after.
While Jones later asked to delay the fines until he could file a public interest appeal with the Connecticut Supreme Court, Bellis declined.
Jones, Bellis said, could pay first and then ask for a refund later—if and when he actually showed up to testify.
Jones later filed a notice of intent to pay.
“Defendant Alex Jones sat for two full days of his deposition at the offices of the Plaintiffs’ counsel — even going above and beyond the Court’s March 30, 2022, order by sitting beyond normal hours for the deposition,” his lawyers said in a filing.
The documents, says NBC News, were part of a request for a refund of the $75,000.
Since his deposition, Jones has sent mixed signals about his beliefs.
“I could’ve done a better job on Sandy Hook,” Jones said in an April episode of his podcast. “Some of the anomalies that we reported on were not accurate, and I admitted it years before I was sued.”
However, Jones also insisted that the Sandy Hook families are wrongfully trying to sue him, and are effectively trying to crucify him for having beliefs that run counter to the common-sense narrative.
Sources
Alex Jones to recoup $75,000 in fines in Sandy Hook lawsuit
Infowars host Alex Jones will get back $75,000 in fines in Sandy Hook lawsuit
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