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A judge has ordered Infowars host Alex Jones and his company to pay an extra $473 million in a lawsuit filed by families of victims of the Sandy Hook school massacre. The order comes on top of the nearly $1 billion jury verdict issued last month, bringing the total judgment against Jones in the lawsuit to $1.44 billion.
Connecticut Judge Barabara Bellis ordered the punitive damages on Jones and Free Speech Systems, for having made defamatory claims about the Sandy Hook mass shooting—the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history that killed 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, on Dec. 14, 2012.
“The record clearly supports the plaintiffs’ argument that the defendants’ conduct was intentional and malicious, and certain to cause harm by virtue of their infrastructure, ability to spread content, and massive audience including the infowarriors,” Bellis wrote in a 45-page ruling on Thursday.
The punitive damages comprise roughly $150 million for violations of the Unfair Trade Practices Act, and $323 million in attorney fees and costs for the plaintiffs. Bellis on Wednesday ordered Jones to not move any of his assets out of the United States, ruling at the request of the plaintiffs, who allege that Jones is trying to hide his assets to avoid payment. The plaintiffs are seeking to attach his holdings to secure money for the damages.
Plaintiffs in the case were relatives of 20 children and six staff members who were killed in the 2012 shooting by 20-year-old Adam Lanza.
