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AUSTIN, Texas — The legal team of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones accidentally sent opposing lawyers two years worth of text messages, according to statements made in court on Wednesday.
The development happened before a jury began deliberating how much money Jones should pay for defaming the family of a boy murdered in the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre. Jones told the court on Wednesday that he now understands it was irresponsible to call the attack a hoax.
Jones testified on Wednesday that he believes the massacre was “100% real.” The Infowars host’s confession was one of several notable developments in court on Wednesday.
Jones tried to convince a jury that will determine how much he and his media company, Free Speech Systems, owe for defaming the family of a 6-year-old boy who was killed in the 2012 attack that killed 20 students and six teachers in Newtown, Connecticut.
Jones has been charged with perjury under oath several times this week, including once by the judge, and was confronted in public court on Wednesday by a lawyer belonging to Jesse Lewis’s family with an extensive copy of his cell phone records – evidence that apparently was accidental. had been sent to them by Jones’ lawyers.
The stunning moment seemed to surprise even Jones when he was shown copies of his own text messages by Mark Bankston, an attorney for the boy’s parents, Scarlett Lewis and Neil Heslin.
“Your lawyers screwed up and sent me a full digital copy of your entire cell phone, containing all the text messages you’ve sent over the past two years,” Bankston said in a courthouse on Wednesday. moment that has now gone viral on social media.
“That’s how I know you lied to me when you said you didn’t text Sandy Hook,” he continued. Jones pushed back, saying he was fair and that Bankston’s accusation was a “Perry Mason moment”, referring to a fictional lawyer character.
While Jones labeled it as proof that he complied with a court order to turn over information, Bankston said the evidence shows Jones was false about his text messages during the discovery period of the trial and may have committed perjury.
“My lawyers sent it to you, but I’m hiding, okay,” Jones said, before the judge warned both Jones and Bankston to just answer and ask questions.
The revelations came on Wednesday, a day after Scarlett Lewis and Neil Heslin testified about the suffering, death threats and harassment they endured following their son’s death because of what Jones has been proclaiming on his media platforms.
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In a poignant exchange, Lewis spoke directly to Jones, who was sitting about 10 feet away.
At one point, Lewis asked Jones, “Do you think I’m an actor?”
“No, I don’t think you’re an actor,” Jones replied before the judge admonished him to be quiet until he was called to testify.
Heslin told the jury about holding his son with a bullet hole through his head, even describing the extent of the damage to his son’s body. A key part of the case is a 2017 Infowars broadcast that said Heslin was not holding his son.
Heslin and Lewis said on Tuesday that an apology would not suffice and that Jones should be held responsible for repeatedly spreading falsehoods about the attack, the deadliest school shooting in US history. They are demanding at least $150 million from the trial, which is in its second week.
During closing arguments, Jones’ attorney Andino Reynal said the plaintiffs had not proved that Jones’ actions and words caused actual harm, and that the trial contained no evidence of the harassment, fear and character defamation alleged by the parents. He asked the judges to award the parents $8 — one dollar for each of the fees they consider.
“Alex Jones may not be our taste, but millions of Americans tune in to be informed, to be entertained, and to have their voices heard,” Reynal said. “Speak the truth in your judgment. For them. And for all Americans.”
Jones was the only person to testify in his own defense. His lawyer asked him if he now understands that it was “absolutely irresponsible” to make false claims that the massacre did not take place and that no one died.
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Jones said it did, but added, “They (the media) won’t let me take it back.”
Jones — who has portrayed the lawsuit against him as an attack on his First Amendment rights — told the jury that any compensation over $2 million “will sink us,” but added, “I think it is suitable for whatever you decide what you want to do.”
But during a damning cross-examination, Bankston showed the court an email from an Infowars business officer informing Jones that the company had grossed $800,000 from selling its products in one day, which would amount to nearly $300 million. in a year. Jones said this was the company’s best selling day.
It came after Jones claimed, “I don’t use email.”
Bankston said Jones had failed to comply with court orders to provide text messages and emails for evidence gathering for the trial. Jones told the court that he may have “dictated” that email.
LAWSUIT:Parents of Sandy Hook Student Sue Conspiracy Theorist Alex Jones $150 Million for Defamation
During the interrogation, Jones acknowledged his history of conspiracy claims related to other mass tragedies, from the Oklahoma City bombings and the Boston Marathon to the mass shootings in Las Vegas and Parkland, Florida.
Bankston went after Jones’ credibility, showing an Infowars music video from last week when a host – not Jones – claimed the trial had been rigged and showed a photo of the judge in flames. Then came another clip where Jones asked if the jury had been chosen from a group of people “who don’t know what planet” they live on. Jones said he didn’t mean that part literally.
HOW MUCH WILL ALEX JONES PAY?:Trial begins after judge ruled he slandered Sandy Hook parents
On Tuesday, Jones was verbally abused by the judge for not being truthful with some of what he said under oath, telling the jury that he complied with collecting pre-trial evidence even though he didn’t and that he was bankrupt. is, which has not been established. Prosecutors’ attorneys were outraged that Jones said he is bankrupt, which they say will affect the jury’s decisions on damages.
“This is not your show,” Judge Maya Guerra Gamble told Jones. “Your beliefs don’t make something true. You are under oath.”
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Texas and Connecticut courts have already held Jones liable for libel for his portrayal of the Sandy Hook massacre as a hoax involving actors to increase gun control.
At stake in the Texas trial is how much Jones will pay. The judges will assess the damage in two stages. Once they determine whether Jones should pay the parents compensation for defamation and emotional distress, they must decide whether he should also pay punitive damages. That part includes a separate mini-trial involving Jones and financial experts testifying about his and his company’s wealth.
Jones has already tried to financially protect Free Speech Systems. The company, Infowars’ parent company, filed for federal bankruptcy protection last week. Sandy Hook families have sued Jones separately over his financial claims, arguing that the company is trying to protect millions of Jones and his family’s property through empty entities.
Contributions: The Bharat Express News
