Alex Jones trial - live: Infowars host resumes Sandy Hook testimony after ‘lying under oath’

InfoWars founder and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones is testifying to defend himself against claims that he must pay the parents of an elementary school child killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting for claiming that the massacre was a hoax.

Jones is on trial in Austin, Texas to decide how much he has to pay for propagating the fallacies concerning the school shooting that took the lives of 20 children and six adult employees at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, according to Reuters.

Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, the parents of Jesse Lewis, who was six years old when he was killed in the 2012 massacre, are seeking damages of up to $150m from the radio and web show host as well as from his company – Free Speech Systems LLC. They both spoke in court on Tuesday.

While Mr Heslin testified, Mr Jones continued to defame him live on his show. Ms Lewis said she was grateful to be able to look him in the eye while she was on the stand. In a tense moment at the end of the day, the judge reprimanded Jones and reminded him he is under oath.

Key Points

• Jones tried to hawk his supplements as he took the stand in $150m defamation trial

• Sandy Hook victim’s mother leads a powerful condemnation of Alex Jones

• Judge Gamble rebukes Jones for his testimony so far

• Psychiatrist shares heartbreaking fallout of Sandy Hook shooting

• InfoWars parent company files for bankruptcy

Tense moments in court after judge departs

14:40 , Oliver O'Connell

There was a particularly tense moment in the courtroom after the judge had left for the day. The moment was caught on video as the livestream of proceedings continued to broadcast.

Plaintiff Scarlett Lewis handed Alex Jones a bottle of water as he had been coughing throughout the afternoon. They shook hands and he tried to speak with Neil Heslin before attorney Wes Ball interjected.

Watch the clips below:

Judge reprimands Jones for not telling the truth: ‘This is not your show’

14:19 , Oliver O'Connell

Judge Maya Guerra Gamble came down heavily on conspiracy theorist Alex Jones on Tuesday for not telling the truth in the trial despite being under oath.

The judge was scolding Jones for telling the jury that he complied with the pretrial evidence gathering despite not complying and that he is bankrupt which has not been proven.

“Mr Jones, you may not say to this jury that you complied with the discovery. That is not true. You may not tell this jury you are bankrupt. That is also not true. You may have filed for bankruptcy... that doesn’t make a person or a company bankrupt,” the judge said.

She added: “This is not your show!”

“You’re already under oath to tell the truth. You’ve already violated that oath twice today... It seems absurd to instruct you again that you must tell the truth... Yet here I am. You must tell the truth while you testify,” Judge Gamble told the InfoWars founder.

This occurred after the judge sent the jury out of the room.

Plaintiff’s attorneys were unhappy about Jones claiming that he is bankrupt as they worry will taint a jury decision about damages.

Sandy Hook victim’s mother leads a powerful condemnation of Alex Jones

14:00 , Oliver O'Connell

The mother of a six-year-old boy murdered in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting has testified in the Alex Jones defamation case, and spoke directly to the right-wing Infowars host about the devastating impact of his conspiratorial claims.

Scarlett Lewis and Neil Heslin, the parents of Jesse Lewis, are suing Jones and his company Free Speech Media for $150m over the harassment they say they suffered after the 2012 shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.

Mother of Sandy Hook victim’s testimony offers powerful condemnation of Alex Jones

Jones tried to hawk his supplements as he took the stand in defamation trial

13:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Alex Jones tried to promote his supplement business as he took the stand in his $150m Sandy Hook defamation trial.

The conspiracy theorist boasted about the quality of the vitamins sold on his conspiracy theory site Infowars in an extended rant to a jury who are deciding how much he must pay in damages to Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, who lost their six-year-old son Jesse Lewis in the 2012 school shooting that claimed the lives of 20 children and six adults.

Bevan Hurley reports.

Parents of Sandy Hook victim rip into Jones in testimony

12:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, the parents of Jesse Lewis, are suing Jones for $150m for spreading false conspiracy theories about the shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, that claimed 26 lives in 2012.

Bevan Hurley watched their testimony.

Parents of Sandy Hook victims rip into ‘psychopath’ Alex Jones at trial

Jones ‘never intentionally meant to hurt’ Sandy Hook family suing for defamation

11:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Alex Jones has said that he never meant to “intentionally hurt” the family of a boy killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting as he took the stand at his defamation trial on Tuesday, 2 August.

Watch the moment here.

“I never intentionally tried to hurt you. I never even said your name until this case came to court... I question every big event,” Mr Jones said.

Mr Jones is testifying to defend himself against claims that he must pay the parents of the children killed in the shooting for calling the massacre a hoax.

Jones 'cowardly' for missing court, Sandy Hook dad says

09:30 , Oliver O'Connell

The father of a 6-year-old killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting said Tuesday that it was “cowardly” of Alex Jones to skip hearing his testimony in person about how Jones’ claims that the massacre was a hoax deeply affected his family.

“What was said about me and Sandy Hook itself resonates around the world,” Neil Heslin testified Tuesday. “As time went on I truly realised how dangerous it was ... My life has been threatened. I fear for my life, I fear for my safety.”

Alex Jones 'cowardly' for missing court, Sandy Hook dad says

Watch: Father of Sandy Hook victim testifies at Alex Jones defamation trial

08:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Judge censures Jones for not telling the truth: ‘This is not your show’

07:06 , Arpan Rai

Judge Maya Guerra Gamble came down heavily on conspiracy theorist Alex Jones on Tuesday for not telling the truth in the trial despite being under oath.

The judge was scolding Jones for telling the jury that he complied with the pretrial evidence gathering despite not complying and that he is bankrupt which has not been proven.

“Mr Jones, you may not say to this jury that you complied with the discovery. That is not true. You may not tell this jury you are bankrupt. That is also not true. You may have filed for bankruptcy..that doesn’t make a person or a company bankrupt,” the judeg said.

She added: “This is not your show!”

“You’re already under oath to tell the truth. You’ve already violated that oath twice today.... It seems absurd to instruct you again that you must tell the truth..Yet here I am. You must tell the truth while you testify,” judge Gamble told the InfoWars founder.

This occured after the judge sent the jury out of the room.

Plaintiff’s attorneys were unhappy about Jones claiming that he is bankrupt as they worry will taint a jury decision about damages.

Alex Jones shakes his head as Sandy Hook shooting lies read out in court

06:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Right-wing agitator Alex Jones shook his head repeatedly as his lies about the Sandy Hook school shooting massacre were read out to a Texas jury on the first day of his defamation trial.

The trial in Austin, Texas, which began on Tuesday, will determine how much money the Infowars conspiracy theorist will have to pay to the parents of a child murdered in the 2012 mass shooting at an elementary school.

Graeme Massie reports.

Alex Jones shakes head as Sandy Hook shooting lies read out in court

Alex Jones promoted supplements as he took the stand

06:09 , Arpan Rai

InfoWars founder Alex Jones attempted to promote his supplement business as he took the stand in his $150m Sandy Hook defamation trial on Tuesday.

Jones said he made $165m from promoting supplements on the site while being questioned from his lawyer Andino Reynal about the Infowars business model.

“We have them made by the top lab recognised in the United States. All we do is put our label on it, so we know it is triple tested the highest quality and that’s why people love it,” he said.

“It is the best out there... there’s all sorts of crap you can buy in a gas station out there. That’s not what ours is... we buy ours from the Japanese.”

The conspiracy theorist boasted about the quality of the vitamins sold on his conspiracy theory site Infowars in an extended rant to the jury. That jury is responsible for deciding how much Jones must pay in damages to Mark Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, who lost their six-year-old son Jesse Lewis in the 2012 school shooting that claimed the lives of 20 children and six adults.

Read the full story here:

Alex Jones tried to hawk supplements as he took the stand in $150m defamation trial

Sandy Hook victim’s mother leads a powerful condemnation of Alex Jones

05:34 , Arpan Rai

Scarlett Lewis, the mother of a six-year-old boy murdered in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, spoke directly to the right-wing Infowars host Alex Jones on Tuesday about the devastating impact of his conspiratorial claims.

“Jesse was real. I am a real mom,” Ms Lewis told Jones as he sat in the courtroom in Travis County, Texas, while she testified.

“I wanted to tell you, to your face, because I wanted you to know that I am a mother, first and foremost. I know that you’re a father,” Ms Lewis told Jones.

Scarlett Lewis and Neil Heslin, the parents of Jesse Lewis, are suing Jones and his company Free Speech Media for $150m over the harassment they say they suffered after the 2012 shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.

Read the full text of her condemnation here:

Mother of Sandy Hook victim’s testimony offers powerful condemnation of Alex Jones

Parents of Sandy Hook shooting victim say have endured ‘years of hell'

04:48 , Arpan Rai

The father of a child killed in the Sandy Hook shootings told the court on Tuesday that he and his wife have gone through “years of hell” because of claims by InfoWards founder Alex Jones who told his followers that the massacre was a hoax.

Neil Heslin, father of a six-year-old victim, said: “What was said about me and Sandy Hook itself resonates around the world. As time went on, I truly realised how dangerous it was. … My life has been threatened. I fear for my life, I fear for my safety.”

He informed the jury of the harassing phone calls and death threats on the stand.

Mr Heslin said when he hears about the lies that Sandy Hook didn't happen, it makes him relive holding his son's body after the massacre.

Mr Heslin and his wife Scarlett Lewis have sought up to $150 million in damages after a judge found Jones liable for defamation in a default judgment last year.

The couple has been isolating at an undisclosed location due to what their lawyers say were unspecified security incidents.

InfoWars founder Jones has since acknowledged the shootings but says he is not to be blamed for the family's suffering.

Alex Jones’ attorney apologises for calling Sandy Hook lawyer a ‘liar’

04:30 , Oliver O'Connell

A defence attorney representing far-right conspiracy broadcaster Alex Jones in his legal battle with families of Sandy Hook massacre victims issued an apology for his misconduct in a heated courtroom altercation where he was seen showing a middle finger to a plaintiff lawyer.

“I apologise for yesterday’s outburst. It was not appropriate,” attorney F Andino Reynal said in a Texas court on Thursday before the jury took their seats in the room.

Arpan Rai reports.

Alex Jones’ lawyer apologises for flipping the bird in Sandy Hook trial

Alex Jones berates reporter as ‘pirate’

03:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones berated a reporter outside of his defamation trial for spreading false claims that the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting was staged.

“You pretend to be a journalist, and you want to look at people like me so you can say you’re the good guy,” the Infowars host told Huffington Post journalist Sebastian Murdock.

Josh Marcus has the story.

Alex Jones berates reporter as ‘pirate’ outside Sandy Hook trial

InfoWars parent company files for bankruptcy

01:30 , Oliver O'Connell

The parent company of InfoWars, the far-right outlet run by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, has filed for bankruptcy.

Free Speech Systems LLC filed for bankruptcy on Friday as Mr Jones, its founder, and the company could face as much as $150m in damages in the trial over the lies pushed by Mr Jones concerning the 2012 Sandy Hook elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.

Gustaf Kilander reports.

InfoWars parent company files for bankruptcy

Earlier: ‘Spit your gum out Mr Jones'

01:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Sandy Hook victim’s mother leads a powerful condemnation of Alex Jones

Wednesday 3 August 2022 00:30 , Oliver O'Connell

The mother of a six-year-old boy murdered in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting has testified in the Alex Jones defamation case, and spoke directly to the right-wing Infowars host about the devastating impact of his conspiratorial claims.

Scarlett Lewis and Neil Heslin, the parents of Jesse Lewis, are suing Jones and his company Free Speech Media for $150m over the harassment they say they suffered after the 2012 shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.

Mother of Sandy Hook victim’s testimony offers powerful condemnation of Alex Jones

Psychiatrist shares heartbreaking fallout of Sandy Hook shooting

Wednesday 3 August 2022 00:00 , Oliver O'Connell

The mother of a Sandy Hook school shooting victim sleeps with a gun, a knife and pepper spray near her bed due to the harassment campaign unleashed by Infowars founder Alex Jones, a psychiatrist testified at his defamation trial on Monday.

Bevan Hurley reports.

Psychiatrist shares fallout of Sandy Hook shooting at Alex Jones defamation trial

Jones tried to hawk his supplements as he took the stand in $150m defamation trial

Tuesday 2 August 2022 23:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Alex Jones tried to promote his supplement business as he took the stand in his $150m Sandy Hook defamation trial.

The conspiracy theorist boasted about the quality of the vitamins sold on his conspiracy theory site Infowars in an extended rant to a jury who are deciding how much he must pay in damages to Mark Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, who lost their six-year-old son Jesse Lewis in the 2012 school shooting that claimed the lives of 20 children and six adults.

Bevan Hurley reports.

Alex Jones tried to hawk supplements as he took the stand in $150m defamation trial

And it didn’t end there...

Tuesday 2 August 2022 23:29 , Oliver O'Connell

Once Judge Gamble had left the room, Jones confronted the parents who brought the case against him while trying to shake their hands. Their lawyer said “we’re not doing this”, to which Jones replied: “Why because you can’t feed them fake videos?”

Here’s what happened as the livestream kept playing:

Judge Gamble admonishes Jones

Tuesday 2 August 2022 23:22 , Oliver O'Connell

Here’s the moment Judge Gamble reprimanded Jones for not telling the truth under oath.

After the jury left prosecution brings motion for sanction against Jones

Tuesday 2 August 2022 23:08 , Oliver O'Connell

Court ends for the day and Jones will continue his testimony tomorrow.

Here’s what happened after the jury left the room and the plaintiff’s lawyer moved to sanction Jones and his attorney.

Tuesday 2 August 2022 22:57 , Oliver O'Connell

Judge Gamble rebukes Jones for his testimony so far.

“You may not say to this jury that you complied with discovery. That is not true. You may not tell the jury that you are bankrupt. That is also not true. You may have *filed* for bankruptcy. That doesn’t make a person bankrupt.”

She continues: “It seems absurd to tell you again that you must tell the truth when you testify, but here I am: You must tell the truth when you testify.”

Judge Gamble reminds him that this is not his show. He is not allowed asides. He is to answer the questions he has been asked and that is all.

Jones says he believes what he said was true, to which Judge Gamble responds: “You believe everything you say is true. Your beliefs do not make it true. It does not protect you. You are under oath — that means things must actually be true when you say them ... do you understand the instructions?”

Jones replies: “Yes.”

Tuesday 2 August 2022 22:44 , Oliver O'Connell

Judge Gamble calls for a break and dismisses the jury. This may be the end of the trial for the day given the time.

Shortly before, Jones testifies that he doesn’t have an email address, that he got rid of it ten years ago. However, at a hearing in March, a discovery document was produced that contradicts this.

The prosecution says Jones is continually lying on the stand, did not comply with discovery, and is not bankrupt as he claims. The attorney for the plaintiffs also says Jones’ attorney “solicited testimony” about the alleged bankruptcy.

Judge Gamble says she has questions for Jones while he is under oath.

Tuesday 2 August 2022 22:31 , Oliver O'Connell

Further explaining the way the business operates, Jones says: “We’re trying to have more oversight in what we do. We definitely learned from this process not just what we did wrong but how people misrepresent what we’ve done.”

“We’re like the op-ed page of a newspaper more than say the investigative journal for something. We’re like the op-ed or the funny papers. We got really serious stuff we do ... and then we also have the opinion stuff we do.”

Tuesday 2 August 2022 22:16 , Oliver O'Connell

Jones explains how he puts his shows together with a stack of news, call-ins, and guests. He says he is now moving away from politics and more towards.

“More and more I don’t follow the news model, I mainly just talk about philosophy and the big picture. The show’s gotten more Christian…moving more towards self-help.”

Tuesday 2 August 2022 21:58 , Oliver O'Connell

After giving brief biographic details and talking about his own family, Jones begins to describe his careers and the formation of Infowars.

Jones said one of his mentors told him “you’re involved in an information war,” hence the name Infowars, and “all information is propaganda.”

Tuesday 2 August 2022 21:43 , Oliver O'Connell

Alex Jones takes the stand at his defamation trial.

He begins by saying to the parents of murdered Jesse Lewis: “I never intentionally tried to hurt you. I never even said your name until this case came to court. I didn’t even really know who you were till a couple of years ago. Internet had a lot of questions, I had questions.”

Tuesday 2 August 2022 21:37 , Oliver O'Connell

Judge Gamble denies a motion from defence team for a directed verdict, saying that the evidence of defamation is insufficient for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress claim.

Tuesday 2 August 2022 21:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Ms Lewis is asked how her parenting of Jesse’s brother has been impacted since the massacre. She says she has been overly protective and tried to keep him safe. Ms Lewis gives the same answer when asked about the impact Jones has had.

Asked about the impact of the Choose Love movement, she said it was estimated that 3.5 million children have received this type of love-based training.

“This kind of program would have saved my son’s life,” she says, referring to Adam Lanza. Ms Lewis also says she would include Jones and his family in the program.

Asked if she could ever forgive Jones after he apologized, compensated, and stopped lying, she says she already has and has also forgiven her son’s killer.

Tuesday 2 August 2022 21:16 , Oliver O'Connell

Jury returns to the courtroom and Ms Lewis returns to the stand to answer the written questions they submitted in the afternoon break.

Tuesday 2 August 2022 20:52 , Oliver O'Connell

Tuesday 2 August 2022 20:49 , Oliver O'Connell

The judge calls the mid-afternoon break and the jury will again submit questions for the witness.

Tuesday 2 August 2022 20:34 , Oliver O'Connell

With direct examination over, Jones’ defence lawyer begins to question Ms Lewis.

He asks her in detail about her experiences after the death of her son and how she went on to write a book, meet President Barack Obama and the Dalai Lama.

She confirms that she did not discuss Jones in the book

Tuesday 2 August 2022 20:23 , Oliver O'Connell

Ms Lewis is asked about the prospect of an apology.

“There has not been a sincere apology. But if there was, I liken it to being in a car accident and you run over someone and cause tremendous bodily damage and you look at that person lying on the ground and say ‘I’m so sorry, but I’m not accountable for any of the damage’.”

She says Jones has been on his show talking about the trial “when you should be in here”.

“So you’re not going to stop. Me pleading with you up here isn’t going to get you to stop.”

“I think you know that Sandy Hook is real and that it happened. I know you’re shaking your head no, but I know that you know that it’s real. But I don’t think you understand, at all ... the repercussions of going on air with a huge audience and lying and calling this a hoax.”

She continues: “It seems so incredible to me that we have to do this, that we have to implore you — not just implore, punish you — because you won’t stop lying, saying it’s a hoax. It happened. It’s surreal what’s going on in here.”

“You have impacted every single day of my life negatively,” she tells Jones, before expressing her gratitude for being able to be in court today to address Jones directly.

Tuesday 2 August 2022 20:14 , Oliver O'Connell

Ms Lewis talks about her charity “Choose Love” and a video is played about Jesse and the group’s mission.

“I believe we can get out of any situation by choosing love. You are spreading lies. There is a truth, and I believe you know it. I feel like we are at odds with our missions. I’m trying to save lives. You’re trying to say it didn’t happen.”

Tuesday 2 August 2022 20:08 , Oliver O'Connell

Ms Lewis says Jesse wrote words on a kitchen chalkboard.

“Alex, I want you to hear this too. ‘Nurturing, Healing, Love,’” she says he wrote phonetically since he was six years old and was just learning to write.

She talks about her charity “Choose Love,” established in Jesse’s memory.

Ms Lewis says if the shooter had been given nurturing love, her son would be alive.

“I decided to take a different course, to address the root cause of the pain that caused Adam Lanza to do what he did.”

Again talking to Jones, Ms Lewis says: “We are polarised as a country, you know that. Some of that is because of you” and says she wants to bring people together.

Tuesday 2 August 2022 20:03 , Oliver O'Connell

“Alex gets on there and says it didn’t happen, it was a false flag, that there were no kids killed,” Ms Lewis continues, again looking directly at Jones.

“When you cater to those people not grounded in reality, you’re not telling the truth, and you know the truth as a father.”

“This is an incredibly real event. I lived it. And it is unbelievable that you would continue to say it didn’t happen.”

“Having a son shot in the forehead in his first-grade classroom is unbearable. Unbearable. You don’t think you’re going to survive ... and then to have someone on top of that perpetuate a lie that it was a hoax ... you think I’m an actress?”

Jones suddenly speaks and says: “I don’t think you’re an actress.”

He is quickly admonished by the judge.

Tuesday 2 August 2022 19:57 , Oliver O'Connell

Ms Lewis recalls her son writing “I love you” in the frost on her car before he was taken to school by his father.

It was the last photo she took of him.

Tuesday 2 August 2022 19:55 , Oliver O'Connell

The prosecution introduces the clip from Jones’ show today.

Ms Lewis asks how it makes her feel that this was happening during Jesse’s father’s testimony.

“It’s horrific. Horrific. Horrific.” she stares at Jones, the moment hangs in the air in the silent courtroom.

Tuesday 2 August 2022 19:50 , Oliver O'Connell

Ms Lewis looks right at Jones and addresses him directly.

“You’re saying that I’m an actress, that I’m deep state, this week.” Jones shakes his head. “You are. This week.”

“I wanted to tell you to your face, because I wanted you to know I am a mother first and foremost and I know you’re a father. My son existed and you’re still on your show today trying to say I’m fine, I’m an actress, I’m deep state. Stop.”

She says there has to be real 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. Nobody would ever want to believe that 26 kids could be murdered, nobody would ever want to believe that.”

Ms Lewis says that having one-quarter of Americans doubt the truth endangers all kids.

“I know you believe me, but you’re going to leave this courthouse and say it again on your show. You’re saying no, but you just did it.”

“Do you have empathy? Because the two people who worked for you don’t seem to have any. I don’t see it, do you?”

Tuesday 2 August 2022 19:44 , Oliver O'Connell

The jury is brought back in and Ms Lewis resumes her testimony.

Her attorney is asked whether she is pleased that she gets to look Jones in the eye. Yes, she replies.

She talks about when Jesse was born and his personality.

Ms Lewis is then asked about her son’s final day. She recalls the short delay in the attack when the gun jammed and his actions saved nine of his classmates.

Mr Heslin told a similar version of the story earlier in the day.

Court resumes

Tuesday 2 August 2022 19:38 , Oliver O'Connell

Court has resumed with Jones now present. Prior to the jury being brought in, a video is played of Jones on air today again defaming Mr Heslin.