NEWTOWN — Alex Jones was penalized with an escalating daily fine of $25,000 for “intentionally failing to comply with the orders of the court” to give pretrial testimony in the defamation case he lost in Connecticut to eight families whose loved ones were slain in the Sandy Hook shooting.
The fine, which could accumulate into six figures in as quickly as four days, was imposed Wednesday by state Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis after Jones twice defied court orders last week to sit for a deposition, citing doctors’ orders to refrain from stressful activity.
“The court finds by clear and convincing evidence that Mr. Jones willfully and in bad faith and without justification failed to abide by clear court orders requiring his deposition,” Bellis said during a midday hearing, where she also held him in contempt of court.
Bellis, who could have issued an order for Jones’ arrest to compel him to testify instead said the escalating daily fine would begin on Friday and would end only after Jones completed a full day’s deposition.
“If Mr. Jones’ counsel this afternoon informs (the families’) counsel that he will sit on Friday (for questioning under oath) and if he does, there will be no fine,” the judge said by way of example. “If Mr. Jones sits on Tuesday April 5th, the fine will be $25,000 for Friday and $50,000 for Monday for a total of $75,000.”
The sanctions against Jones, the host of “Infowars” who called the 2012 shooting of 26 first-graders and educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School “staged,” “synthetic,” “manufactured,” “a giant hoax,” and “completely fake with actors,” is the latest development in a story that has been in the national headlines for the past week.
On Tuesday, Jones offered an FBI agent and 18 members of 10 families who lost loved ones in the school shooting $120,000 each to settle defamation lawsuits he lost against them in Texas and Connecticut late last year.
In Connecticut, the FBI agent and 14 people from eight families rejected Jones’ offer, calling it “a transparent and desperate attempt by Alex Jones to escape a public reckoning under oath with his deceitful, profit-driven campaign against the plaintiffs.”
The four other parents in the two defamation cases in Texas have yet to respond officially to Jones’ offer, according to their lead attorney in Texas, Mark Bankston. But on Wednesday one of those parents told Hearst Connecticut Media that he would reject Jones’ settlement offer and was “going to trial to fight him.”
The first of two trials in Texas to determine defamation damages is scheduled for April 25. The trial in Connecticut to determine defamation damages is scheduled to start Aug. 2.
Meanwhile Jones has admitted to viewers that he is feeling stressed, and may have cardiovascular symptoms related to his COVID-19 infection last year.
“I started getting sick after I got COVID last year … like everybody else, it attacked the cardiovascular system, okay?” Jones said in an audio message posted Friday on “Infowars”. “I’m 48 and I’m under a lot of stress.”
An attorney representing Jones at Wednesday’s hearing in Connecticut argued as much.
“If you decide to hold him in contempt, I ask you not to issue an arrest warrant for Mr. Jones (because) … it would only serve to exacerbate those health concerns,” said Cameron Atkinson. “Mr. Jones recognizes that he must give a deposition. An arrest warrant would be a drastic step toward procuring his attendance.”
Bellis said the fines were designed to compel Jones to complete his pretrial deposition as soon as possible.
“The court recognizes while this fine is coercive, it is reasonable and necessary,” Bellis said, adding the families’ attorneys had the right to petition the court in Texas for an arrest warrant for Jones.
“It is clear that the (families) simply want and are entitled to the deposition of Mr. Jones who has continued to deliberately disregard the court process.”
hertzsae on March 30th, 2022 at 22:09 UTC »
A lot of people are reaching the escalating fine incorrectly. The article mentions that the fine goes up $25k per day. So the first day is a $25k fine, the second day is $50k and the third day is $75k. If he testifies on the fourth day, it will be 25+50+75 = $150k fine for the three days.
Nix-7c0 on March 30th, 2022 at 21:33 UTC »
If you want to hear Alex Jones' actual court deposition, which is both sad and hilarious, much of it along with context and background can be found here, on the AJ watchdog podcast 'Knowledge Fight' . It's really astounding what he'll say under oath when a skilled prosecutor isn't allowing him use the usual tricks to dodge, confuse, and change subjects.
It's also amazing to hear AJ claim "I never said that" only to be repeatedly answered by a clip where he says exactly that
oldmansbelt on March 30th, 2022 at 21:12 UTC »
"The court finds by clear and convincing evidence that Mr. Jones willfully and in bad faith and without justification failed to abide by clear court orders requiring his deposition,”