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The conspiracy theorist Alex Jones said on Wednesday he now understands it was irresponsible to declare the Sandy Hook school shooting a hoax, and now believes it was “100% real”.
He was speaking in his own defamation trial, a day after the parents of a six-year-old boy killed in the 2012 attack testified about suffering, death threats and harassment they have endured because of what Jones has trumpeted on his media platforms.
“It was … especially since I’ve met the parents. It’s 100% real,” Jones said, at the trial that will determine how much he owes for defaming the parents of Jesse Lewis, one of 20 children and six adults killed at the school in Newtown, Connecticut.
Lewis’s parents said on Tuesday an apology would not be enough and the Infowars host needed to be held accountable for repeatedly spreading falsehoods about the attack. They are seeking at least $150m.
Closing arguments were expected to begin on Wednesday after more testimony from Jones, who has portrayed the lawsuit as an attack on his first amendment rights.
