Alex Jones Ordered to Pay Up to $50,000 a Day Until Testifies Ahead of Sandy Hook Conspiracy Theory Trial
Alex Jones Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Alex Jones has been ordered to pay up to $50,000 per day by a Connecticut judge until he provides video testimony ahead of his upcoming Sandy Hook defamation trial.
Jones called the horrific 2012 elementary school shooting, which left 26 people, including 20 children, dead, a “hoax.”
He was sued by several parents and is headed to trial later this year. A court found him liable for damages late last year. He recently offered to pay each plaintiff $120,000, but the offer was declined.
A court filing stated: “Mr. Jones extends his heartfelt apology for any distress his remarks caused.”
NBC News reported Jones was ordered to appear at a two-day deposition to offer video testimony ahead of the trial last week. He did not appear, citing health issues.
Despite his apparent health issues, Jones continued broadcasting from his studio in Texas.
The Hartford Courant reported Wednesday afternoon that Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis called Jones’ refusal to appear at the deposition “willful” during a hearing.
The paper reported the judge reacted by applying sanctions on Jones:
At the conclusion of a brief hearing in Waterbury, Bellis said Jones can have her contempt order purged if he sits for two days of deposition in Connecticut. In the meantime, she ordered him to as much as $50,000 a day until the depositions take place. If he fails to appear, she said she is ready to impose a variety of additional sanctions.
In 2016, after Jones had dubbed the Sandy Hook massacre a hoax, he spoke about it during a contentious interview with then-NBC News reporter Megyn Kelly.
He said of the Sandy Hook massacre: “I do think there’s some coverup and some manipulation.”
Jones also said during the interview, “I tend to believe that children probably did die there. But then, you look at all the other evidence on the other side, I can see how other people believe that nobody died there.”
