Alex Jones Will Be Deposed As Part Of Sandy Hook Defamation Lawsuit

A Connecticut judge has ruled that Alex Jones will have to sit for a five hour deposition in the defamation case brought against him by family members of the Sandy Hook massacre.

Using Infowars as his platform, Jones repeatedly pushed the idea that the tragedy—in which 20 children and six adults died—was merely a hoax carried out by actors. In addition to being unfathomably cruel, Jones’s deranged conspiracy theory also prompted his supporters to harass and threaten victims’ families. From the Hartford Courant:

The lawsuit alleges a yearslong campaign of “abusive and outrageous false statements in which Jones and the other defendants have developed, amplified and perpetuated claims that the Sandy Hook massacre was staged and that the 26 families who lost loved ones are paid actors who faked their relatives’ deaths.” The lawsuit also accuses Jones of orchestrating a sustained attack that lasted for years, accusing shattered family members of being actors, stating as fact that the shooting was a hoax and inciting others to act on these malicious lies.

The families claim Jones knew the claims were false but that he kept perpetuating them because it was good for his ratings, drew advertisers and made him money.

The judge also ruled that three other people connected to Infowars’s operations could be deposed as well.

“For years, Alex Jones and his co-conspirators have turned the unthinkable loss of our sweet little Daniel and of so many others into advertising dollars and fundraising appeals,” Mark Barden, whose son died in the shooting, said in a statement.

“It is far beyond time that he be held accountable for the pain his false narratives have caused so many, and today’s ruling brings us one step closer to doing that.”