‘Jesse Was Real’: Mother of Six-Year-Old Murdered at Sandy Hook Addresses Alex Jones Directly For Saying Shooting Was a Hoax
Scarlett Lewis and Neil Heslin, the parents of murdered 6-year-old Jesse Lewis, took the witness stand on Tuesday in the defamation trial of far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones in Austin, Texas.
Jones had claimed that Jesse was a child actor and that his death, along with the 19 other murdered children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut was a hoax.
The couple is suing Jones in Texas for as much as $150 million in damages for threats and harassment they faced as a result of Jones’ words. Jones has already been found liable for defamation in this case, due to a default judgment entered against him in 2021 when he failed to put on a defense.
“Your son, Jesse Lewis. How does it make you feel being able to come in today and tell him to his face your story?” Scarlett Lewis’s attorney asked her while on the stand.
“I wanted to tell you to your face because I wanted you to know that I am a mother first and foremost. And I know that you are a father and my son existed,” Lewis said, speaking directly to Jones.
“You’re still on your show today trying to say that I’m, implying that I’m an actress, that I am ‘deep state,’ you have this week,” she continued as Jones shook his head.
“And I don’t understand. Truth, truth is so vital to our world. Truth is what we base our reality on, and we have to agree on that to have a civil society. Sandy Hook is a hard truth. Hard truth. Nobody would ever believe that 26 kids could be murdered. Nobody would ever want to believe that. I understand people not wanting to believe that, actually,” she continued, adding:
I don’t want to believe it. But I’ve, since that day, dedicated my life to keeping kids safe. It’s our responsibility. I used to think it was the school’s responsibility. It’s actually our responsibility. And I’ve dedicated my life to that. And having a quarter of Americans doubt that Sandy Hook happened or doubt the facts around Sandy Hook is not conducive to keeping our kids safe. It’s not. And it’s our responsibility to keep our kids safe.
“This happened almost ten years ago. We’ve had over 350 school shootings since then. We have to keep our kids safe. Jesse was real. I am a real mom,” she concluded.
Later in the trial, Heslin testified that Jones had made his life “living Hell.”
“What was said about me and Sandy Hook itself resonates around the world,” Heslin said. “As time went on, I truly realized how dangerous it was. … My life has been threatened. I fear for my life, I fear for my safety.”
In another extraordinary moment, the court was shown footage of Jones lambasting Heslin in real time on his show and suggesting that he was “on the spectrum.”
“He is being manipulated by some very bad people,” Jones told his audience in a clip played in the court. “I’ve got to be honest. He’s slow. OK?”
WATCH: Alex Jones was on air 45 mins ago talking about #SandyHook victim father Neil Heslin as being “slow” and “on the spectrum”. Plaintiff’s attorney wants to play it during the continuation of Scarlett Lewis’ testimony. #AlexJones pic.twitter.com/WoakwqxlFi
— Cathy Russon (@cathyrusson) August 2, 2022
Watch the full clip above via Law & Crime
