Right-wing conspiracy theorist and InfoWars talking head, Alex Jones, has officially been ordered to pay massively steep fines, up to $50,000 per day, by a Connecticut judge until he finally sits for the two-day court-ordered video deposition in the Sandy Hook defamation that he has continually refused to complete, according to new reporting.
Jones has found himself at the epicenter of a defamation case by the families of Sandy Hook school shooting victims after the InfoWars host publicly labeled the gun violence tragedy that claimed 27 innocent lives a “hoax.”
Numerous parents banded together to sue the Right-wing conspiracy theorist and now, a year later, the case is on its way to trial. Late last year, a court officially found Jones liable for damages in the case. Recently, Jones offered to pay plaintiffs $120,000 each, but his offer was shot down.
“Mr. Jones extends his heartfelt apology for any distress his remarks caused,” a court filing reads.
Stay up-to-date with the latest news!
Subscribe and start recieving our daily emails.
According to new reporting from NBC News, Jones was officially court-ordered last week to appear for a two-day deposition to deliver his testimony in the case, to determine how much Jones should be forced to pay out to the plaintiffs. The Right-wing talk show host refused to appear for the deposition not once, but twice, citing sickness and health issues that prevented his appearance. However, it seemed as though Jones’ health issues, while bad enough to prevent him from appearing at his court-ordered deposition, were not severe enough to stop him from marching forward with the broadcast of his show from his Texas studio.
Today, the Hartford Courant reported that Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis, during a hearing, labeled Jones’ refusal to appear for his court-ordered deposition “willful.”
The publication reports that the judge responded to Jones’ “willful” refusal to comply by slamming the Right-wing host with brutal sanctions:
At the conclusion of a brief hearing in Waterbury, Bellis said Jones can have her contempt order purged if he sits for two days of deposition in Connecticut. In the meantime, she ordered him to as much as $50,000 a day until the depositions take place. If he fails to appear, she said she is ready to impose a variety of additional sanctions.”
“I do think there’s some coverup and some manipulation,” Jones said of the Sandy Hook massacre during a tense interview with then-NBC News reporter Megyn Kelly in 2016.
“I tend to believe that children probably did die there. But then, you look at all the other evidence on the other side, I can see how other people believe that nobody died there.”
Featured image via screen capture
