InfoWars host Alex Jones has been found legally responsible “by default” by a Connecticut judge after he refused to hand in documents and financial records for a defamation lawsuit filed against him by families of Sandy Hook shooting victims.
Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis handed the verdict on Monday against Jones, who has for years evaded providing his documents to the court in the discovery process. By refusing to hand over the documents, Jones essentially forced the court to rule against him.
While it’s been reported by some news sources that he was determined “guilty,” according to the New York Times, he was found “liable,” a distinction that differentiates civil cases from criminal ones.
“All the defendants have failed to fully and fairly comply with their discovery obligations,” Bellis said during the virtual hearing, according to CNN.
The verdict was the fourth against Jones, who has for years claimed the 2012 Sandy Hook elementary school shooting that killed 20 children was a “hoax.”
His repeated claims, calling the incident a “false flag” with “crisis actors,” led his followers to harass the families of the children. Families have claimed Jones profited from these claims; he failed to provide documents to refute these claims.
Nine of the families have since filed lawsuits against Jones for his harassment. In early October, he lost two of the cases.
In 2019, Jones blamed “psychosis” for his claims that the shooting was not real.
It’s not clear why Jones refused to share his documents with the court. The Daily Dot has reached out to the InfoWars team for comments.
The next step is a set of trials next year where juries will determine how much he owes the families in damages.