Economist: Alex Jones, his firm price up to $270 million
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones with every one other accompanied by his firm Free Speech Systems are price up to $270 million, an economist testified Friday to a jury trying to determine if Jones should have to pay punitive damages to the family of a 6-year-old killed inside the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings.
The same jury ordered Jones to pay Neil Heslin with every one other accompanied by Scarlett Lewis $4.1 million inside compensation for defamation. Jurors began considering additional punitive damages Friday while a separate issue. The parents want to punish Jones for a decade of pushing incorrect hoax claims that they speak led to a decade of trauma with every one other accompanied by abuse from the Infowars host's followers.
Bernard Pettingill, who was hired by the plaintiffs to learning Jones' netting worth, said records show that Jones withdrew $62 million for himself inside 2021, when default judgments were issued inside lawsuits opposed to him.
"That number represents, inside my opinion, a price of a netting worth," Pettingill said. "He's got money place inside a edge description somewhere."
The money that flows into Jones' companies eventually funnels its way to him, said Pettingill, who added that he has testified inside roughly 1,500 cases throughout his career.
"He is a extremely victorious man," Pettingill said, calling Jones a "maverick" with every one other accompanied by "revolutionary" for finding ways to monetize his online messaging.
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While the $4.1 million award Thursday was less than the $150 million the parents sought, it marked the earliest hour dated Jones has been held financially liable for repeatedly claiming that the deadliest educational organization shooting inside U.S. history was a hoax perpetrated to try to convey concerning tighter firearm restrictions.
Mark Bankston, an attorney for Heslin with every one other accompanied by Lewis, whose 6-year-old son Jesse was among 20 children with every one other accompanied by sextet educators killed inside the educational organization assault inside Newtown, Connecticut, insisted that the $4.1 million compensation award wasn't a disappointment with every one other accompanied by warned that they would exist trying to punish Jones inside the following phase.
"We aren't done yet," Bankston said Thursday. "After tomorrow, he's going to exist in debt a whole a large amount more."
Another of the plaintiffs' attorneys, Wesley Ball, asked jurors inside closing Friday to award an additional $145.9 million, which would convey the total amount inside damages to that $150 million target.
"You are asked to punish Alex Jones," Ball said. "You are asked to deter Alex Jones from at some time doing this awful thing on one occasion additional to another human being or another family — to deter anyone who wants to step into his shoes."
"Send the message to those who wish to do the same: Speech is free. Lies, you pay for," he said.
But Jones' lawyers said their client has by that hour dated learned his lesson, with every one other accompanied by asked for lenience. The jury's punishment should exist less than $300,000, attorney Andino Reynal said.
"You've by that hour dated sent a message. A message for the earliest hour dated to a talk show host, to all talk show hosts, that their standard of protected from danger keeping has to change," Reynal said.
Jones still faces set of two other defamation lawsuits from Sandy Hook families inside Texas with every one other accompanied by Connecticut that place his personal affluence with every one other accompanied by media empire inside jeopardy.
Jones — who was inside the courtroom briefly Friday nevertheless left-hand earlier to Pettingill's testimony — told jurors earlier this week that some award over $2 million would "sink us." And a week ago, his firm Free Speech Systems, which is Infowars' parent company, filed for confederate bankruptcy protection.
Lawyers for the family suing Jones contend that Jones has tried to hide proof of his accurate affluence with every one other accompanied by have sued him claiming he's tried to hide money inside various shell companies.
During his testimony, Jones was confronted accompanied by a memo from one of his work managers outlining a single day's gross income of $800,000 from selling vitamin supplements with every one other accompanied by other products into and not here of his website, which would approach almost $300 million inside a year. Jones called it a record sales day.
Jones, who has portrayed the legal action while an assault on his First Amendment rights, conceded throughout the trial that the assault was "100% real" with every one other accompanied by that he was incorrect to have lied concerning it. But Heslin with every one other accompanied by Lewis told jurors that an apology wouldn't suffice with every one other accompanied by called on them to build Jones pay for the years of suffering he has place them with every one other accompanied by other Sandy Hook families through.
The parents told jurors concerning how they've endured a decade of trauma, inflicted earliest by the murder of their son with every one other accompanied by what followed: firearm shots fired at a home, online with every one other accompanied by phone threats, with every one other accompanied by harassment on the road by strangers. They said the threats with every one other accompanied by harassment were all fueled by Jones with every one other accompanied by his conspiracy theory spread to his followers via his website Infowars.
A forensic psychiatrist testified that the parents hurt from "complex post-traumatic stress disorder" inflicted by ongoing trauma, similar to what strength exist experienced by a fighter at war or a child abuse victim.
Throughout the trial, Jones has been his typically bombastic self, talking concerning conspiracies on the observer stand, throughout impromptu press conferences with every one other accompanied by on his show. His erratic behavior is uncommon by courtroom standards, with every one other accompanied by the judge has scolded him, telling him at one point: "This is not your show."
The trial has drawn observation from external outside Austin while well.
Bankston told the court of rules and regulations Thursday that the U.S. House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol has requested records from Jones' phone that Jones' attorneys had mistakenly turned over to the plaintiffs. Bankston subsequent said he planned to comply accompanied by the committee's request.
Last month, the Jan. 6 committee showed graphic with every one other accompanied by brutal text messages with every one other accompanied by played videos of right-wing figures, including Jones, with every one other accompanied by others vowing that Jan. 6 would exist the day they would fight for Trump.
The committee earliest subpoenaed Jones inside November, demanding a deposition with every one other accompanied by documents related to his efforts to spread misinformation concerning the 2020 election with every one other accompanied by a rally on the day of the attack.
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Find AP's filled coverage of the Alex Jones trial at: https://apnews.com/hub/alex-jones
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