Sandy Hook Families Win 2 Legal Cases Against Alex Jones: Report

NEWTOWN, CT — Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, host of the right-wing media outlet Infowars, was found legally liable by a Texas court for monetary damages from two lawsuits filed by families of the victims of the Sandy Hook mass shooting, first reported by Huffington Post.

Jones was sued by the families when he claimed the December 2012 murders at the elementary school were a hoax, but he has since said that the shooting did occur.

Despite Jones' apparent change of mind, the legal wrangling has continued, and this week Judge Maya Guerra Gamble handed down default judgments against Jones in two of several cases. The judge issued the ruling after Jones failed to provide information he was ordered to turn over in connection with the lawsuits, reported CNN.

In a statement to Patch, Mark Bankston, from the Texas-based law firm Farrar & Ball, said he and his Sandy Hook clients are happy with the judgment.

"We are pleased that our clients will soon have the closure they deserve," Bankston said.

Gamble's ruling essentially called into question whether Jones took the proceedings seriously, because he continually disregarded orders from the court to turn over certain information, such as company emails, HuffPost reported.

In a statement on the Infowars website, Jones' Connecticut-based attorney, Norm Pattis, said the ruling did not take into account what information Jones provided:

"The trial court’s entry of a default in these cases is stunning. It takes no account of the tens of thousands of documents produced by the defendants, the hours spent sitting for depositions and the various sworn statements filed in these cases.

"What’s more, these cases are currently before the United States Supreme Court where we have asked for review of the Texas Supreme Court’s denial of motions to dismiss.

"We are distressed by what we regard as a blatant abuse of discretion by the trial court. We are determined to see that these cases are heard on the merits.

"Nothing less than the fundamental right to speak freely is at stake in these cases. It is not overstatement to say the first amendment was crucified today."