Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones cannot use his personal bankruptcy to escape paying at least $1.1 billion in defamation damages stemming from his repeated lies about the 2012 Sandy Hook elementary school massacre, a U.S. bankruptcy judge ruled Thursday.

Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones cannot use his personal bankruptcy to escape paying at least $1.1 billion in defamation damages stemming from his repeated lies about the 2012 Sandy Hook elementary school massacre, a U.S. bankruptcy judge ruled Thursday.

  • PatFusty
    -34•1 year ago

    Give out the state maximum punishment of $1k for punitive damages in connecticut… i think worst case is the $300k punitive damages for state of Texas or 1% of net worth if class action.

    I actually am not super familiar with the case but I dont think anyone on earth has a liquid $1B unless you are saudi royalty…

    But there were (4?) cases right? Each of the families got between 300M and 500M? Hes not the one that killed the babies, what kind of precedence are they trying to make?

    • @Warl0k3
      29•1 year ago

      The argument against him is that he actively instigated and encouraged a campaign of harrassment and assault on these families through heinous, libelous lies.

      Oh, and then he lied to the judge. Really don’t do that.

      • PatFusty
        -23•1 year ago

        Ok, even if he did all that does that warrant losing everything? At what point should we stop and say “yeah thats excessive”?

        • @YoFrodo
          20•1 year ago

          When he’s destitute. What he did is completely abhorrent, disgusting, and detestable. To target the families of school shooting victims is just unconscionable. He knew he was lying but he did it to profit off of the controversy. He absolutely should lose everything.

          • PatFusty
            -18•1 year ago

            Is 1.5B considered destitute? Does the damage he did worth 1.5B dollars? Why is it special to him

            • @YoFrodo
              16•1 year ago

              You asked “at what point should we stop” and my answer is when he is destitute.

              The fine is punitive. Its a punishment and a deterrent to other charlatan shock jocks who would like nothing more than to use the suffering of others as their ramp to fame and fortune. Im not sure its ‘special’ but he is one of the most famous of these modern day snake oil salesmen and has a massive fan base.

              • PatFusty
                -17•1 year ago

                What is the maximum punitive damages limit for a non injury suit in CT again? Or was the lawsuit trying to claim personal injury? Is this the same case where the families tried to sue for every single person he had as a follower? Lol it was like 2 TRILLION dollars they originally asked for. Is that not comically large or is that just considered destitute?

                • @YoFrodo
                  4•1 year ago

                  This article is for both CT and TX.

                  Here is a video explaining what happened: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSm7sRx-0hA

                  you seem to not understand the legal aspect of this, which is understandable considering how dense and nebulous the law is and can be. That video breaks it down.

                  This isnt just a situation of Jones going “hey, maybe this is fake” and getting a billion dollar fine. This fine is in response to YEARS of lies, doxxing, and inciting his fanbase to harass people.

                  The initial suite being for some massive amount is par for the course in litigation. Parties ALWAYS ask for some larger amount than they expect to get. Its like haggling and the initial amount is almost always meaningless for the reality of the case. Thats just how the system is for now.

                  • PatFusty
                    -1•1 year ago

                    Thanks, I appreciate it. I’ll look in a bit. Still not sure how years of lying translates to ‘get fucked for life’ via court dues. If he did bad thing then send him to jail, dont do a transfer of funds thats like some weird lotto shit. I wonder, has a libel case like this ever happened before?

            • Flying Squid
              8•1 year ago

              Maybe his lawyers shouldn’t have accidentally leaked all those text messages showing how undeniably guilty he was to the opposition and then refuse to answer when the opposition asked if it was a mistake and the jury wouldn’t have awarded that level of damages.

              • PatFusty
                -1•1 year ago

                “They ruined our lives so we should at the very least be able to ruin him financially for the rest of his life”. I doubt any of this is going to be paid. Ill set up a butt slapping line a mile out if he pays 1 billion dollars.

                • Jaysyn
                  1•1 year ago

                  He can’t get any more juicy loans with that judgement hanging over his head. His companies will be wound down & closed. They will also come after almost everything he’s put into his parents names.

    • ZeroCoolEnglish
      27•1 year ago

      I actually am not super familiar with the case

      And yet you’re happy to lecture us on the appropriateness of the outcome. Interesting.