U.S. court orders Infowars’ Alex Jones to disclose financials to Sandy Hook families

MANILA, Philippines – A court in the United States ordered far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, owner of Infowars, to grant the families of the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting victims full access to the website’s financial documents. 

In a ruling on Friday, January 11, Connecticut Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis granted the requests of 6 families to access the financial and internal marketing documents of Infowars, the New York Daily News and The Hill reported.

The New York Daily News cited Chris Mattei, lawyer of the families, as saying they have alleged from the beginning that Jones and his financial network “trafficked in lies and hate in order to profit from the grief of the Sandy Hook families.”

The families sued Jones for defamation over his claims that the mass shooting on December 14, 2012, at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut was staged. The shooting left 26 students and faculty members dead. 

Jones is seeking the dismissal of the case. His camp argues that he and Infowars are protected by free speech under the First Amendment of the US Constitution.

Next week, Bellis will have to decide whether to allow the families’ lawyers to depose Jones, The Hill reported.

In 2018, Jones was banned by online platforms like Apple, Facebook and Twitter for spreading hoaxes and misinformation, and for violating the platforms’ policies and guidelines. – with a report from Michael Bueza/Rappler.com