Current:Home > ScamsAlex Jones ordered to pay judgment to Sandy Hook families, despite bankruptcy-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
Alex Jones ordered to pay judgment to Sandy Hook families, despite bankruptcy
View Date:2024-12-23 21:25:30
Right-wing provocateur and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones must pay more than $1 billion in damages to families affected by the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Connecticut, despite Jones' filing for bankruptcy, a federal bankruptcy court judge has ruled.
Jones filed for Chapter 11 protection in December after he was ordered to pay compensatory and punitive damages for repeatedly defaming the families by claiming for years that the 2012 killings of 20 students and six staff members was a hoax, staged with actors as part of a government plot to seize guns.
Bankruptcy often staves off legal judgments but not if they are the result of willful and malicious injury. U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Christopher Lopez in Houston decided that standard was satisfied in Jones' case.
"[I]n Jones's case, the language of the jury instruction confirms that the damages awarded flow from the allegation of intent to harm the Plaintiffs – not allegations of recklessness," Lopez wrote in his ruling.
MORE: Connecticut jury orders Alex Jones to pay nearly $1 billion to Sandy Hook parents
Jones was convicted by default of defaming the families by accusing them of faking their children's deaths, being crisis actors, and fraudulently misrepresenting themselves to the public at large. The verdict determined Jones harmed the families by spreading lies about them to his InfoWars website and program audience, and to the public by urging people to investigate the alleged hoax.
"The families are pleased with the Court's ruling that Jones' malicious conduct will find no safe harbor in the bankruptcy court. As a result, Jones will continue to be accountable for his actions into the future regardless of his bankruptcy," said Chris Mattei, an attorney at Koskoff Koskoff and Bieder, who represents the Sandy Hook families.
veryGood! (48651)
Related
- Nevada trial set for ‘Dances with Wolves’ actor in newly-revived sex abuse case
- Yellen says development banks need overhauling to deal with global challenges
- Western New York gets buried under 6 feet of snow in some areas
- Love Is Blind's Paul Peden Accuses Vanessa Lachey of Having Personal Bias at Reunion
- Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul referee handled one of YouTuber's biggest fights
- Interest In Electric Vehicles Is Growing, And So Is The Demand For Lithium
- 3 tribes dealing with the toll of climate change get $75 million to relocate
- Saint-Louis is being swallowed by the sea. Residents are bracing for a new reality
- Colts' Kenny Moore II ridicules team's effort in loss to Bills
- Kim Kardashian Transforms Into a Mighty Morphing Power Ranger With Hot Pink Look
Ranking
- Who's hosting 'SNL' tonight? Musical guest, start time, where to watch Nov. 9 episode
- 5 years on, failures from Hurricane Maria loom large as Puerto Rico responds to Fiona
- Vecinos en Puerto Rico se apoyan, mientras huracanes ponen a prueba al gobierno
- Animal populations shrank an average of 69% over the last half-century, a report says
- Worker trapped under rubble after construction accident in Kentucky
- The activist who threw soup on a van Gogh says it's the planet that's being destroyed
- Ryan Reynolds Jokes His and Blake Lively's Kids Have a Private Instagram Account
- Lola Consuelos Supports Parents Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos at Live With Kelly and Mark Debut
Recommendation
-
Todd Golden to continue as Florida basketball coach despite sexual harassment probe
-
Anna Nicole Smith's Complex Life and Death Is Examined in New Netflix Documentary Trailer
-
Threats to water and biodiversity are linked. A new U.S. envoy role tackles them both
-
Find Out the Gift Ryan Seacrest Left Behind for New Live Co-Host Mark Consuelos
-
New York eyes reviving congestion pricing toll before Trump takes office
-
They made a material that doesn't exist on Earth. That's only the start of the story.
-
Victoria Justice Sets Record Straight on Claim She's Jealous of Ariana Grande
-
Here's what happened on day 3 of the U.N.'s COP27 climate talks