Alex Jones has been ordered to pay $45.2m in punitive damages to the family of a Sandy Hook victim by a Texas jury, in addition to the $4.11m he already must pay them in compensation.
The right-wing conspiracy theorist was not in court as the jury in Travis County, Texas, returned its unanimous verdict against him on Friday afternoon.
Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, whose six-year-old son Jesse was among the 20 students and six adults killed in the mass shooting, sued Jones and his media company for the claims he has made that the massacre was a “false flag” operation and that the victims did not actually exist.
The jury’s decision came the day after it found that Jones should pay $4.11m in compensatory damages to the family.
Mr Heslin and Ms Lewis had asked for $150m in compensatory damages, and the jury’s decision on punitive damages are designed to deter harmful behaviour.
Source: Independent
