The famous Right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones got tagged with the sum of nearly $50 million in the Texas defamation lawsuit that was born due to lies he made regarding Sandy Hook. Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Newtown, Connecticut. This is only one of the numerous legal issues.
We’ve got some ideas about the things Jones. Jones and his lawyers have to anticipate. We will concentrate in this article exclusively on Jones. In the next post, we’ll examine the legal issues of his lawyer in a different article.
What was The Texas Trial About?
Jones along with other employees of Infowars which is his business frequently claimed on air that the shooting in 2012 in Sandy Hook, which resulted in the deaths of 20 children and six adults it was a hoax against guns. It was all a ruse. It also led to a plethora of legal action.
The other case involved Travis County, Texas. Scarlett Lewis and Neil Heslin who are parents to 6-year-old Jesse Lewis, sued Alex Jones, Infowars, and the company he runs, Free Speech Systems. The lawsuit claimed that Jones’s deceit led his supporters to make threats to kill them, pester the couple, and ultimately cause them to lose their lives.
During court proceedings, Jones and his lawyers consistently violated court’s regulations. In retaliation for their conduct and in retaliation, judge Maya Guerra Gamble, entered the default judgment against Jones regarding liability. That signifies that she decided he was legally liable for defamation as well as deliberate infliction of emotional distress. The sole question to consider was the amount Jones was required to compensate his parents to compensate them for the damage that he caused them.
The Texas jury ruled they believed that $4.1 million in compensatory damages , and $45.2 million of punitive damages for the three defamation cases could be enough. The problem is that Texas law limits an amount for punitive damages awarded in the same case at $750,000. So the judge is likely to decrease the value of the judgment. Jones’ lawyers have said they’re planning to appeal.
This keeps Jones engaged for a long time.
What’s next for Jones?
However, that’s not all. Ibuprofen in a large dose won’t suffice to alleviate the legal ache Jones suffers from.
Sanctions are imposed against Jones (and the Attorneys of Jones)
If Jones had a plan to attract Judge Gamble’s fury He could have not succeeded more. The case was handled like an omen. Judges had to constantly insist that he be giving evidence in a courtroom and not ranting about the Infowars show. He was required to be instructed at the very least four times to be honest and tell the true story. As the trial was going along, Jones repeatedly disparaged the trial in the press as”show trials. “show trial” which would surely anger the judge.
There’s more. Jones’ attorney, F. Andino Reynal has to be apologetic after the photo showed him giving his client’s lawyer the middle finger after an argument in the courtroom. Then, in a dramatic Perry Mason moment, the lawyer representing the plaintiff, Mark Bankston, proved that Jones as well as his attorney had been lying about specific messages that were on Jones his phone (more about that in the coming blog article).
Judge has said she’ll consider a motion to impose sanctions. The judge is free to decide to impose sanctions on the attorney or a person when they violate the regulations or directions of the judge. We believe that the judge may ordain Jones to reimburse the plaintiffs a substantial sum of money, and send Reynal for an investigation by the Texas Bar for an ethics inquiry. We’ll see.
Possible Perjury Charge
In the event of a testimony that you have taken an oath to stand by your word. If you lie on an oath, then you may be charged criminally with perjury. In Texas perjury can be classified as a Class A Misdemeanor punished by up to one year in jail as well as the payment of a fine of $4,000. A third-degree perjury conviction is considered to be an aggravating crime, and is punished by between two and 10 years in prison , and up to a fine of $10,000.
In addition, Gamble often commanded Jones to lie throughout the well-publicized trial. An Texas prosecutor can appoint an indictment jury to investigate Jones for lying to the public. Jones could be sentenced to jail because of lying to the court.
Texas, Connecticut Lawsuits
As well as in addition to the Travis County case, Jones is also facing a defamation lawsuit in Texas as well as another one that is pending in Waterbury, Connecticut. In the Connecticut instance Judges are contemplating sanctions against Jones and his lawyers, which includes Reynal in connection with the disclosure of extremely confidential medical records to unauthorised individuals that violated Federal and state law.
The cases are temporarily on hold in the meantime Jones is dealing with a different legal matter that is a bankruptcy.
Federal Bankruptcy Case
In the middle of in the Texas hearing, Alex Jones’ main business, Free Speech Systems, was declared bankrupt in a chapter specifically drafted for small-sized businesses. Free Speech Systems reported $79 million in debts, with $54 million of which is due to a company named PQHR Holdings (Jones is the director of the company). According to the Sandy Hook families contend that the filing was Jones seeking to funnel funds and assets worth millions and to get around the judiciary oversight that is common during a typical bankruptcy.
We’re not certain exactly what Jones is involved in. It’s possible that the Sandy Hook families may be correct — perhaps Jones’ goal is to hide the wealth of his family. Whatever Jones might be planning it will be interesting to see whether he can avoid paying the plaintiffs the amount that the jury has determined they owe him.
House Select Committee January 6 Investigation
As if this weren’t sufficient, Mark Bankston, the plaintiffs’ lawyer, revealed to Judge Gamble that he’d been solicited by, among other things including representatives of United States House Select Committee concerning the Jan. 6 attack. They demanded the texts that were that were stored on Jones’ cell phone which might have something to do with this Capitol Riot. Jones did turn up using a bullhorn to encourage the protesters to demonstrate “peacefully.” Gamble said to Bankston that should he want to hand Jones the texts to the panel, she would not hinder his efforts.
The media have reported that Bankston is, in actual fact handed over the text for the panel. The committee isn’t sure what they contain, and it’s difficult to predict what the implications of this could be. We do know the committee has been open of referring those associated with the Capitol Riot to the U.S. Department of Justice in the event of the possibility of legal action.
Let’s be honest and say that Jones is right now within the eyes at the Federal government. This isn’t the best thing for him.