Supreme Court denies Alex Jones' appeal against $1.4bn verdict in Sandy Hook defamation case

Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones falsely claimed that the Sandy Hook mass shooting was a fraud and that the parents of the victims were in on it, an oft-repeated lie that ultimately led to a colossal $1.4bn defamation verdict against him. Though he has evaded payment for years through bankruptcy and other legal manoevers, the U.S. Supreme Court chose today not to help him out. It rejected his appeal of the verdict and left the award in place.

The justices did not comment on their order, which they issued without even asking the families of the Sandy Hook victims to respond to Jones' appeal. … In the Connecticut case, the judge issued a rare default ruling against Jones and his company in late 2021 because of what she called Jones' repeated failure to abide by court rulings and to turn over certain evidence to the Sandy Hook families. The judge convened a jury to determine how much Jones would owe.

In brief, Jones did not respond to the lawsuit and made a show of ignoring the court's orders, ultimately leading the judge to give the plaintiffs a default ruling. Jones finally started participating after the court set about determining damages and it became clear that the number was going to be very big indeed. Though the U.S. Supreme Court has overturned and ignored a lot of precedent lately to help MAGA causes, Alex Jones is not the king and his supplement business is not in the good book.

Jones, for his part, is lately sporting a toothbrush mustache, one he makes expressly clear is a Hitler mustache.

Previously:
• Judge freezes Alex Jones's assets
• Texas judge orders Alex Jones assets sold to pay Sandy Hook families