According to the parents of 6-year-old Jesse Lewis, the 2012 mass school shooting was a hoax intended to take away gun ownership in the United States. First of three trials to establish monetary sanctions against the Texas-based conspiracy theorist for his false statements about the tragedy.
We’ll send you notifications once a new story breaks.
Two weeks into Alex Jones’ defamation trial, the parents of a Sandy Hook school shooting victim testified that they believe he should be held accountable for his false statements about the tragedy.
The parents of 6-year-old Jesse Lewis, who was killed in the Newtown, Connecticut, tragedy in 2012, are suing Jones for $150 million for defamation on their behalf.
Late Tuesday afternoon, Jones entered the stand, and he’ll continue his testimony on Wednesday.
While testifying in court on Tuesday, Heslin stated that he needs Jones’s punishment in order to get over the horror of the incident.
Heslin said throughout the trial that “you can never recover from the death of a child.” It’s like losing a piece of yourself when you lose a child.” In the loss of a kid, you feel violated. What happened to you can’t be undone.”
Lewis’ testimony was aimed at Jones: “Realistic Jesse was there for the taking. I can honestly say that I am a true mother.”
First of three trials to establish monetary penalties for Jones’ defamation and emotional anguish caused by lying about the Sandy Hook shooting, which killed 20 students and six educators. Infowars, the Austin-based website and broadcast of Infowars host Alex Jones, constantly claimed that the mass massacre was a staged government scheme designed to confiscate American firearms.
The families of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting were harassed by Jones’ listeners in October, when an Austin judge granted a default judgment against Jones for defamation. Defamation cases brought by the family of Sandy Hook victims have all been thrown out by Jones in the last year.
Attorney F. Andino Reynal inquired about Jones’ well-being when he took the stand. Jones said, “I’m actually feeling pretty good right now.” “I’m delighted that I’ve had the opportunity to clear up some of the misconceptions that the media has had about my comments on the Sandy Hook shooting.”
It was Jones’s background, his foray into journalism, his company Infowars, and just how much time he devotes to his job that Reynal particularly probed on Tuesday.
Heslin stated that he hopes the outcome of this action would restore his own integrity and image, which Jones has ruined, as well as his son’s legacy.
The boy’s parents had praised him as a hero in the past. When he heard the first guns fired at Sandy Hook, he hurried into the school hallway, according to the family’s obituary on legacy.com. It was Jesse who faced the shooter, called for other students to flee, and nine children were able to leave the classroom they were hiding in.
Only a piece of Lewis’ testimony was given to the courtroom by Jones while Heslin was absent. Jones’ absence was deemed “disrespectful” and “cowardly” by Heslin. “inflammatory” language” was used by Jones on Infowars shortly after Heslin’s testimony, according to one of Heslin’s lawyers. Jones described Heslin as “a good man” who had been “manipulated by some very terrible individuals” in a video tape shown during the trial on Tuesday. His assessment of Heslin is that he is “slow,” not “dumb.”
At the end of her testimony, Lewis expressed her gratitude for the opportunity to speak directly to Jones’ face. She was relieved to finally be able to testify after having been negatively affected practically every day of her life since her son’s death.
On numerous occasions, Lewis testified that she believes Jones is aware of the fact that Sandy Hook was not a planned event. In spite of this, she claimed, he is determined to continue propagating falsehoods on his show in order to make money.
This is a true incident, despite the frauds that have been circulated about it. “I was there,” Lewis recalled.
As far as she is concerned, she doesn’t think Jones will stop spreading disinformation unless he is punished severely.
Lewis equated the “phantom pains” of losing her kid to those felt by those who have lost a limb. Even though he is no longer here, she is still haunted by the memory of his death.
Lewis claims that the tragedy has been made worse by Jones and his team’s fabrications of the facts. As a result of Jones’ claims, Lewis and Heslin have received numerous accusations and death threats. Lewis has been living in the same house since Jesse’s death, but she now says she is afraid to be alone in it.
According to their lawyer, Mark Bankston, who spoke to the Austin American-Statesman on Monday, Heslin and Lewis were kept in isolation under the protection of a bolstered security detail.
Unfortunately, following several encounters—which took place outside the courthouse, but rather in the city of Austin—my clients are now in isolation and are secured by a big security staff,” Bankston added.