Mr. Jones should be ashamed of himself. The parents of children who were killed at Sandy Hook have gone through enough without his nonsense.
I know Sandy Hook happened. It happened a 45 minute drive from where I lived at the time and a 30 minute drive from where my grandsons went to school. The psychiatrist who managed all the counseling help given at the time is a friend of mine. As a result, he has been invited to speak on this subject around the world.
I support the parents that are suing Mr. Jones. I hope they win a bundle, though it will not replace the children they lost.
94
For all the people insisting that this is a matter of Alex Jones' free speech, let's try an experiment. I'll defame you publicly with a national media platform, and then you, a private citizen, can try refuting me. Think of the most depraved, cruel insult I can make. I'll magnify that a hundredfold. I'll repeat it endlessly and encourage my audience to confront you and your family personally and as cruelly as they can. Then you refute me, if you can get anyone to listen. Please, give that a try, and when you try defending yourself, I'll make you suffer as much as I possibly can.
Then you defend my right to do it.
110
Time for Alex to be Hulk-Hogan slammed by a jury . . .albeit not of "his peers." Take all current and future monies Jones' may ever have. Make him go away just like Hogan body-slammed Gawker into bankruptcy rubble. One damage award of $115M shut down that sleazy operation.
First year law school teaches that the only defense to defamation in these cases is a defendant showing that he "speaks the truth." Should be interesting to hear how Jones' lawyers try to clear that bar in any court case . . .anywhere.
While we're waiting for the slow grind of jurisprudence, let's all send warm fuzzies to Sandy Hook families! To counter the jerks and bullies messages. We can do this!
37
They should NOT settle for $1 and some symbolic apology. They should make this awful man (and his sponsors if possible) pay dearly for his hurtful behavior. Information manipulation surrounding the tragic deaths of children goes beyond the everyday indecency we have some to expect from right wing media. It is evil.
75
May this lead to his total financial ruination.
96
More power to the Sandy Hook families. Enough is enough. He knows he's lying and doing this for financial gain and political power. I hope to see him in chains.
56
Honestly, I hope the Sandy Hook families win, clean Alex Jones's clock, and put him out of business. He's shouting fire in a public theater with damaging consequences.
Truth is an absolute defense for defamation and libel. He's not telling the truth, and the Sandy Hook families can demonstrably illustrate that without breaking a sweat, but not without a tear.
But it's past time to hold Jones accountable for publicly inciting the masses with the defamatory claptrap he's know for. Let's all send him cases of Chiobani yogurt after he loses.
42
Jones is a predator, pure and simple.
He has no right to any kind of license after this, and the people who have carried out his harassment of families need to be prosecuted as well.
Trump should be censured for his support of this hater.
55
Alex Jones is the ultimate conservative. Some conservatives rest on a few lies. Cutting taxes on the rich helps the middle class and poor. Reagan ended the Cold War. Blacks are all on welfare. Mexicans are rapists. Global warming is a hoax. The War of Southern Treason was about state rights.
But Jones hits them all. He encompasses every bald-faced lie of of the right. He should be Trump's VP in 2020.
28
FINALLY! Alex Jones is a menace to truth and critical thinking. What is the mechanism at work here? Is he demented? And/or addicted to some substance? His tactics are obscene, on par with preachers who fleece the susceptible folk.
25
I cannot wait for InfoWars to get the same kind of extinction level verdict that Gawker suffered in March 2016.
39
Post truth, bah. It's the age of the charlatan, and these snake-oil salesmen (in this case, literally) are taking their idiot following to task. Idiots are taken in and truly despicable people are made to feel acceptable. I only wish they could be corralled away from normal functioning society.
23
There must be a special place in Hell for Alex Jones. There is no pity for a man who callously took an unspeakably painful situation and made it worse, for some unholy purpose. If there is evil, and that almost seems too mild a word, it lives in the cruelty of this man. My heart breaks to think of the loss of those precious children.
51
I hope jail time with a very long sentence is part of this monster’s sentence at the end of a trial. He needs to go to jail and rot there so as not to take space in hell where even the devil doesn’t want him.
21
I don't see much hope for this lawsuit. Defamation requires that the parents be defamed, made notorious or disgraced in the eyes of the public.
Is that the case? Whatever the size of Jones' audience base, does that equate to "the public"?
I think Jone's past words, his paranoia, his conspiracy theories will actually help him here because the public (excluding his band of followers) simply doesn't take his word as truth. His absurd comments are instantly dismissed in most cases.
Whatever meaning his words have are contained within a small box of alt-right media consumers.
2
Alex jones is a frightening example of how vulnerable we are to vile information.
How can some one distort (knowingly) an incident so horrifying and profit greatly from a false narrative.
It is mind blowing that he has an audience that believe him and financially reward him?
16
This was a real heart wrenching piece..I was so shaken reading it ...I did not like to finish it.
I can still feel the excruciating pain of the Sandy Hook parents from all the heartless comments of a person making money selling stories about the real Sandy Hook.
I am hoping some Law school alumni like Columbia or Harvard will help Sandy Hook parents first and any parent in our country from scourge like this once and for all.
I am ready for any crowd funding initiative .
We are having to the encounter more and more school shootings and killings in USA and Congress paid by NRA refuses to do anything about it and on top these stories hurting the same parents and us twice.
Freedom comes with responsibility and we cannot forsake one for the other!
22
I wish the parents and the officer success in this lawsuit and an end to their persecution at the hands of InfoWars followers. Alex Jones is an Icon to those who have no interest in truth or honor. The loss and hardship these families have endured is unimaginable for me. As a society, we can no longer accept this as a part of free speech. I stand with the Sandy Hook families. I think Jones should be forced to view the coroner pictures and reports as part of this trial. And I hope it decimates him financially.
17
Dropped out of community college to begin a career as a conspiracy theorist. Now his is famous, a multimillionaire and has the ear of the President of the United States.
I do not think we have invested enough in the economic lower half of this country. It is coming back to bite us.
34
The thing about conspiracy theorists is they can never provide a full detailed explanation of what REALLY HAPPENED in any of these tragedies. They just cast endless doubts on any story that is reported through major media. They think this actually makes them some how intellectually superior to the general public because they believe that they have the 'inside story.' They call the general public 'sheep' when it is they who are just following a different shepherd; Jones.
5
Recreational sadism is the single most ubiquitous and prominent hallmark of the American Right today. Being perpetual victims themselves, they try to weaponize belligerent meanness as their counterattack. It's a metaphor for the violence they'd like to perpetrate. They can't pull the trigger themselves, but they can make it into political vengeance. They can celebrate the deaths of the victims and the grief of the families and, taking a side, grind pain and helplessness into the whole nation's broken hearts: we can do this any time we want. We can cause you this fear and this pain and there's nothing you can do about it. Any one of us might be the shooter next time. Fear us.
19
I wish them the very best in suing Alex Jones into oblivion so he can't continue to peddle his conspiracy theories online.
62
I do hate to appropriate a quote from the goodhearted Buzz Lightyear in a situation like this, but here it goes: I hope they sue Alex Jones to infinity and beyond.
16
Sure the pants off of him! He's making money off other people's grief.
23
In a case like this, I cant help but think to say "lock him up!"
36
This is beyond disgusting and grotesque. As if these people who lost loved ones haven't suffered enough. It's amazing the lengths people will go to for notoriety. Sandy Hook was one of the saddest, most heartbreaking tragedies our country has ever experienced. To say it never happened is not only a true disgrace and completely disrespectful to the deceased and their families, it is outright idiotic. That people even believe this guy makes me concerned that there are in fact a lot of really stupid people out there...
62
I hope they take him and his organization for every penny they have....and then some....the depths with which he and his disturbed followers who harass these poor family’s has no bottom. They define “deplorable”. Sick..sick...sick.
34
The line between reality and fantasy is only blurred when we want to close our eyes to the truth. Truth is not easy to swallow especially when it deals with the loss of a loved one. These courageous parents should be supported by us by acknowledging the truth of what happened at Sandy Hook. Predators have always been around in human history. This time they have access to billions of people. We can defeat them by taking them to court and exposing their lies. We must also talk about the truth to our young even if it is hard to do so. Parents like to shield their children from the "bad actions" from "bad people". The reality is our neighbor could click the "like" button when shown these conspiracy theories and bring up their young with conspiracy lies. Freedom of Speech comes with a price tag, it is up to us to calculate the cost. We cannot pay with the lives of our children but we can teach our children to find the truth in the speech and denounce the frauds and lies.
12
The families of the UC Santa Barabara mass murder victims have also been attacked by the same group of Alex Jones followers, claiming the shootings were staged by actors and the grieving families were lying.
19
Alex Jones is the honest to goodness, really truly fake news. Dopes that listen to that guy should be part of the lawsuit too.
19
So should his advertisers!
10
I’m wondering what level Dante had in mind for this type of individual?
15
There is no barrier to entry for InfoWar websites and "social media". A sprinkle of Koch Bro's chump change can create dozens of new ones. Is the answer to publish child sex trafficking "news" about every Republican politician in the country? Or do we go high? Do we just concede the fool's errand and decide the room needs adults? What's an adult in the age of Trump?
9
On one hand I appreciate that NYT, Washington Post, LA Times etc. ethically employ a slew of fact checkers and lawyers to ensure that their articles are correct. On the other hand I don't understand this the system that allows AJ spews his lies with abandon.
And think of all the money AJ saves by just making up his stories and having no facts to check.
10
The problem is not so much that people like Alex Jones exist. They have always existed since times immemorial and always will.
The bigger problem is that we have a population that actively listens to these blatant lies and believes it. That's what's making Alex Jones the millions. Once again, just like Trump, Alex Jones is a symptom, not a cause.
Welcome to the collective dumbing down of American society.
85
I don't think this is dumbing down(though that is happening).
I think this is a case where the truth is too horrible for some people to face and they are willing to embrace literally any narrative that allows them to believe that we don't live in a world where crazy people can waltz into a school and murder children and we don't do anything about it.
I would even go so far as to say that their lives literally depend on them not believing the truth.
7
Unfortunately, our country has devolved into a country that cares more for the freedom to arm its citizens than to the freedom to live to the full potential of its citizens.
12
To those who believe Jones should be protected by the First Amendment: Even where there are death threats and harassment made to the families as a result of calculated spread of misinformation? Misinformation that has helped lined the pockets of Jones?
In so many areas of life, there are consequences for committing injury unto others. Our judicial system is an attempt to reflect this. There should be consequences for spreading blatant, injurious lies in the pursuit of personal profit.
Moreover, the gift of freedom should generate a sense of responsibility, i.e. to be wise in its use, in order to protect it. Freedom without this awareness is what led us to this current quagmire of an administration. Trump and his cronies have skated into the White House in part because there are so many of us who believe in unadulterated freedom without responsibility.
10
The owners of his radio news station should also be included in this suit. They did not shut him up.
20
One of the creepiest and most opportunistic people in America, wholly embraced by candidate Trump. Anyone who still supports either needs to take a long, hard look in the mirror.
20
I listened to The Daily this morning and was nauseated by the comments and action of Jones and his flock. I hadn't paid much attention to Jones before, but until this morning, "I never really gauged [his] cruelty or [his] recklessness." Indeed, Mr. Jones, "[y]ou have done enough. Have you no sense of decency?"
10
The answer to you question is clearly "No."
2
On top of the tragedy these families suffered for losing their loved ones they had to endure the taunts from merchants of lies and liars. I therefore fully support their legal actions.
My best wishes to them.
9
Take this animal down by exposing him in open court for all to see. Take all of his money. Show him for the sick man that he is. Maybe then the individuals and groups who make money off of this type of lie pushing will get the message and go back under the rock they crawled out from under. Same goes for Fox news. Someone needs to address these poisonous liars who are killing a once proud country. Freedom of speech is one thing, lying and making money off of it at the cost of soul crushing victims and tearing down our Republic is another. Spreading blatant, provable and harmful lies should have actionable consequences.
64
I apologize for even writing this: I have read many times that if "people" saw the evidence, the photos of victims and what an assault weapon does to such small bodies, they would have an epiphany about our gun laws.
The ramifications of those kinds of photos being made public would fundamentally change humanity, but having lost everything already, I wonder if families might allow those photos to be used as evidence in a trial -- to save future six year olds.
God help us that we're the kind of country that needs this kind of evidence to understand that no one needs an assault rifle. No one.
51
I agree, I have read an emergency room doctor's account of how a high velocity bullet rips a body apart. Some parent will do this eventually, out of grief and frustration. Like Emmett Till's mother did.
16
There's so much to these conspiracy theories that's influenced by popular culture. "False flags," "deep state," "paid actors" - conspiracies right out of a Robert Ludlum novel or an espionage action movie. We're losing our societal ability to tell the difference between reality and fantasy/entertainment. Trump and Alex Jones are symptoms of this decline, with real world consequences.
39
Hopefully they will bankrupt this despicable fraud, get him off the air, and leave a bottomless pit of silence where his moron followers can languish in limbo.
Next: Republican liar and propagandist Hannity, and Fox News.
51
Like most commenters, I hope that the families pursuing this suit prevail and that Mr. Jones is made to pay a very hefty sum. He is knowingly spreading lies and at least recklessly (and quite possibly intentionally) inflicting emotional and other distress on these families. There is no shortage of cases that would deny him First Amendment protection on these grounds.
Here's the real problem though. Assuming that Mr. Jones does lose this suit and is made to pay a very hefty sum, he'll no doubt turn to his audience to help him pay the bill, whether through direct contributions or sales of his diet products. Does anyone seriously doubt that Mr. Jones will get more than enough money from his listeners to pay the bill, and then some? It's not hard at all to envision a scenario where he comes out RICHER from this than before, because his audience is so gullible and so hard-wired to believe him. THAT's the real problem.
17
If the jurors are at all like me, the judgement will be at least five hundred billion dollars, plus legal fees, court costs, transit fares and lunch for the surviving "actors." He and his followers might have difficulty satisfying that.
13
Possibly more important than a legal win, will be the exposure of the events of that terrible day in open court. The Emmett Till effect. Expose the jury and the sociopaths who support Mr. Jones to photos of the lifeless, destroyed bodies of those young victims. Show the jurors evidence of the lives they lived and the potential that was lost. I think, I hope, that in the face of that terrible reality, fund-raising will be beyond the power of even someone as shameless as Jones. Denial is the fuel of his business; denial and willful ignorance. It is my hope that both will be obliterated by a trial.
Mr. Jones has already admitted (in the course of a battle for custody of his children) that his on-air statements are a mere role he plays. Now he must admit that to his followers. Admit that he lied and manipulated. And that he did so while figuratively standing over the broken bodies of the people whose deaths he used to influence the gullible and to generate profits for himself.
8
If Trump was any close to being a compassionate human being, he would condemn Jones rather than embrace a fellow liar.
21
Alex Jones and his followers are not patriots as they claim. They are just the opposite. I am all for these families and every other American who believes in the truth and not ‘alternative facts.’ Shame on Jones, shame on him. I hope the families win.
23
Good old fashioned litigation with a verdict and huge punitive damages will silence those who spread lies that cause legally cognizable harm. In fact, rebroadcasters of those lies (e.g., networks, radio stations, corporate masters) all too could be held liable and share joint or total liability.
And the court can impose monstrous fines for each breach after the plaintiffs are victorious. I guarantee you that solid work in the federal judicial system can work to rid society of these trash-talking profiteers.
I just wish those same tools could be used to rid us of the hoax that is the POTUS.
25
I've said it a million times and I'll say it again. In a free society the proper response to controversial speech is to refute, not censor, which is the goal of these lawsuits. If liberals are one-percent as smart as they think they are, it shouldn't be a problem. By them having to run to the courts, demand that social media censor speech they oppose and target advertisers of hosts puts their authoritarian impulses on full display. It also proves they're losers who can't compete in the intellectual sphere to get public opinion on their side. Losing to someone like Alex Jones by the way who they're obviously threatened by doesn't say much about their intelligence. Neither does using violence and threats of it on college campuses across the country to get scheduled speakers cancelled. Add to it Trump rallies during the 2016 campaign. It's completely unacceptable and long overdue for them to be put in their place one way or another.
1
The families of the Sandy Hook victims have received death threats. They have had to move to a safer neighborhood and their survivoring children live in fear. Is that okay with you? They are suing for damages. To insult them with right wing talking points is absurd.
37
There are exceptions to the blanket free speech we all enjoy. Of course, if harm is caused by speech (the malicious, untrue, injurious lies spouted by Jones and the incitement of further harm via Jones’ listeners threats and actions) that speech must be curtailed.
17
@Sharon: No, it's not alright with me. Here is where I sense we differ. I believe that the people responsible for the threats belong punished, not Alex Jones. If we start punishing everyone for how others respond to their speech then nobody will be able to speak. Also, in regards to your remark accusing me of using right wing talking points, my words are my own and own only. Don't lower yourself to the level of someone like Alex Jones with lies in an attempt to discredit me. How funny that those who condemn others are so often a mirror reflection of them. That's called hypocrisy by the way.
"“When anybody’s behind a machine, whether it’s a gun or a computer or a car, a dehumanization takes place that makes it easier to commit an act of violence,” Veronique De La Rosa"
This might be a moment to remember the landmark studies of Stanley Milgram, who proved, up to and actually far, far beyond, Ms. De La Rosa's point many decades ago. Easily looked up on the internet, I'd encourage anyone to do so. Mr. Jones is the new age poster child for Milgram, and it would be fitting if a few (hundred) million more caring and active citizens knew about Milgram...
10
This is a great way to put the fear of God into a destructive opportunist. One question that comes to mind is what kind of conspiracy theory Jones will cook up to accuse the accusers.
Americans are suckers for conspiracy. It seems like the societies exposed to the most propaganda and influence are the worst at spotting it. Water to a fish.
8
It also helps conspiracies flourish to have perpetual economic advantage. It’s the “grown up” version of being a spoiled brat.
5
It is a sick, sick Nation, Government, People, and Society that would allow this type of defamation to be directed at the victims of mass murder.
It is a sick, sick Nation, Government, People, and Society that would hide behind its First Amendment and force this type of defamation to be adjudicated in a court of law.
In a just, moral society with any sense of ethics whatsoever, this type of defamation would be unimaginable, never be dreamt of, nor the mass murders that are the backdrop for this vulgar sickness be thought possible; anywhere at any time.
Further, it is beyond the realm of any credibility that any society calling itself "civilized" would freely elect a leader who promotes this defamation, and indeed a leader, administration, and supporters that gleefully wallow in it.
We are experiencing the ultimate, tragic ship of state allegory. A perhaps National fatal self-inflicted wound.
I have no faith that we can right our sinking Nation and reform its rotten leadership and willingly ignorant hoi polloi.
I would love for a guilty verdict in each of these trials to begin to prove me wrong.
MB
18
One line in this essay is crazy. "The legal burden on the families will be heavier yet if they are deemed to be public figures." How in the world would parents living their lives and having something horrific happen to them then become 'public figures'. Public figures are people who knowingly go into the public sphere: Politicians, talk show hosts, media figures, actors/actresses, heads of Fortune 100 companies, etc.
Also shamed to say, I watched probably 15 to 20 minutes of these crazy deniers actually holding depositions of Sandy Hook town employees, (custodians and DPW workers) as they wanted to prove that the school wasn't even being used as a school. Yes, people of Sandy Hook had to pay for the defense of this nonsense.
16
Such a gentle picture used in this article of the real nut-case that is Alex Jones. It is very rare to find him in such a mellow, state at least when he is presenting his public persona.
May he be sued to the gills.
20
I sincerely hope that Alex Jones is the first of his kind to be so totally impoverished by civil suits that he's forced to join the ranks of the homeless and panhandlers of whatever city he lives in. I also hope that once the dam breaks he's also the first of many more to lose everything they've gained torturing people like this. I would wonder too, if some of the elements of SESTA/FOSTA can be used to hold the hosting services for Jones and his ilk responsible too. The immediate and direct harm these monsters cause should be something actionable.
I am also the parent with two grown sons. I cannot even begin to fathom what it would like to have the very existence of your child denied by people like Jones. The pain and anger they must feel on top of their grief is unimaginable. The toxic icing on the cake is that some of the people who follow Jones feel empowered to seek out and attack grieving parents. online and sometimes in person, says everything I need to know about people who listen to and believe the Jones of this world. The best descriptors for all of them can't be used in the NY Times comments, unfortunately.
24
I am 100% behind them! They have suffered long enough from this needless evil.
14
Alex Jones is a dangerous sociopath and should be silenced.His monstrous lies are akin to shouting fire in a crowded theater which is where free speech ends.The exhibit for that would be his follower who showed up in Washington with a gun to shoot people in a pizza parlor which he believed had a child pornography operation based on Mr. Jone's lies.No one should be allowed to use the air waves to incite riots or pick up guns to shoot people.
37
We need to connect the dots here; the believers of this hoax are the extreme right gun fanatics who also are also the anti choice/abortion rights folks, frequently white rural bible thumpers. They are very fearful of loosing their guns so Alex Jones calls the Sandy Hook massacre a hoax. They will believe anything to save thier guns without restrictions.
13
There is an especially heinous place in hell for demons like Alex Jones
10
I am not religious but I sincerely hope that for Jones and his ilk there is a very special and very hot spot in Hell.
17
People like Alex Jones exist and of course profit because unfortunately most Americans are STUPID!
18
The only part of this more disgusting than Alex Jones is that he actually has paying followers. What is wrong with people?
12
There is no First Amendment “right” to lie for money.
19
This is so completely horrible. Just (sigh) why would anybody do This? My daughter was 6 when this happened. She was so small and sweet. These children were torn to ribbons by an AR-15. Babies. They were babies. I know because I had one too. She will be twelve soon. My heart absolutely aches as I try to stave off hatred for everything and everyone who is Infowars. I hope Alex Jones is bankrupted financially, as he is already bankrupted both emotionally and morally.
22
I am almost ready to throw up reading about this vial man who uses lies, innuendo, and just fantasies to hurt these poor parents. This is more than outrageous and I hope they put Jones in the poor house forever. Such a creature deserves our total disrespect and he needs to lose his luxury lifestyle for such harm played on grieving parents. These talk jocks are beyond belief and don’t belong in America.
10
In the 1800’s, Alex Jones would have been sitting next to Donald Trump on a rickety covered wagon drawn by a team of horses, wares clanging from hangers as the two peddled fermented sugar water as wonder medicine and illegally sold rifles to the indians.
Only modern communications technology and the shameless abuse of it has permitted these scavengers to attain financial security, derived from the gullibility of the masses they can reach, and hopefully, the courts will take a significant chunk of that security from Jones and further reveal the worthless, bloodsucking nature of his “products” when the lawsuits conclude.
That outcome should be realized because the grieving parents of the murdered children of Sandy Hook are not public figures seeking to make public entertainment or political activity a livelihood; they have merely been thrown into the public eye as a consequence of the events which touched them and the fabrications of disreputable outlets like Jones. And it should be straightforward to demonstrate that the statements of Jones were “false statements of fact, not opinion,” because there is only the record of the cheap fiction Jones spit out, with none that supports it from any source, and that “Jones was… negligent, and did not take the steps an ordinary reporter would take to corroborate facts,” because had he done so, in the least, he would not have broadcast his lies.
When Jones steps off the wagon, let the court’s judgment be the rattlesnake that bites him.
10
The "Freedom of Speech" does not include the continual dissemination of lies and false controversies with the expressed objective to stir-up discontent among the lesser educated population. It's time for Mr. Jones to be exposed and to "pay for his sins."
10
The First Amendment guarantees your right of Free Speech. The other edge of the sword is that fools like Infowars make money by creating horrible, despicable, filthy lies that cause people that have suffered unspeakable trauma more pain. The only response we can have is to quit listening to fools like Infowars. The victims of Infowars invective should sue and win big. Only monetary ruin stops liars, unfortunately. Humanity and dignity would, if only they possessed these attributes.
4
Anyone who attempts to get rich off of intentionally hurting others and blatantly lying about a tragedy involving toddlers deserves the harshest penalty known to man.
11
Alex Jones has knowingly and persistently caused these families unspeakable pain with his repeated lies. He is the personification of EVIL. He should not only pay huge punitive damages, he should be forced to retract his lies publicly every day until everyone of his followers has been re-educated.
19
I hope they win such a large judgment that he has to pay for the rest of his life, even with the money his cretin fanbase will send in to support him. The families of every big tragedy have to endure these stupid people's hoax theories. That is not fair that innocent people have to defend themselves from idiots, under the guise of 1st amendment speech which has some exceptions already. They should be arrested for harassment with is definitely against the law and have to pay large damages which will impoverish their families. They will think twice about following the lead of conspiracy theorists. (That is, if they think at all.) It should cost them dearly. It is the worst thing to have a child die, but a family shouldn't have to defend his existence.
30
The United States has a long history of hosting such "anti social" speech. Here is one my mother used to hear on the radio, long before TV had impact. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Coughlin. If you are interested in doing something about it, please consider the history free flowing evil speech.
5
Alex Jones and followers are genetically stupid people who have a profound disability: they can't think for themselves, rationalize, or understand reality. Instead, they find comfort in a fantasy world created by their supreme leader who promises that through idiotic beliefs, their lives will be better. When they are handed purple Kool-Aid will they also drink it? To quote their supreme leader, "SAD!"
19
“Genetically stupid people”
This comment isn’t helpful, instructive, correct, or intelligent. Maybe you decided to add the “genetic” part to make it more of a zinger, but biologizing the behavior of Jones and his supporters is not only unfair, but incorrect. This is learned behavior, and pretending it’s “genetic” (I doubt you really know what that means) actually lets these people off the hook.
Also it was very inappropriate to throw the term disability around like that, as if a disability is a wrong or dirty thing. Maybe you should rethink the motives for your supposed opposition to Alex Jones; you might realize you and him have a lot in common.
4
This story is incredible. I frankly had no idea that such nonsense was being peddled. But I am obviously more appalled by the acts of those who would threaten the families of the slain children than the antics of Jones. Every person who has threatened a family member should be criminally prosecuted. And were there a legal-representation fund to pay legal expenses for the plaintiffs in the defamation action, I would contribute (I suspect the attorneys are handling this under a contingency-fee agreement).
My other observation is that it is arguable whether the Internet has created more harm than good in our world. The Internet has certainly caused economic dislocations. But the economic effects aside, the Internet has debased our increasingly coarse politics and culture.
28
Oh Lord, I would pay to serve on that jury. Jones should lose in triple every profit he's made from his vile lies.
31
What I am hearing is that Jones' defense is that he truly believes there is a conspiracy behind the Sandy Hook tragedy, and that his beliefs and opinions are protected by the first amendment. How will that square with his previous defense (for child custody) that he's merely playing a character in his programing? You can't have it both ways. Also, if he did truly believe is was a hoax, this would be a golden opportunity for him to lay out his 'proof,' and to prove he's not peddling lies. I pray this is the court case that takes down this modern John R. Brinkley.
29
This man is an example of why the trump era must come to an end now! These people lost their children. They are not going to be able to see them enter high school or anything else for that matter. The fact the he even has an outlet to spread these lies is sad. And this is another part of making America great again! Please get every dime he has every made in his life!
26
The irony of this "news" site that has and continues to promote the Russia Hoax taking a moral stand against Alex Jones.
2
Hilarious.
Jones was first to break fish-people, baby-flavored Pepsi, Chobani 'migrant racists,' and Sandy Hook "crisis actors" stories.
NYT broke Trump Tower Meeting proving Don Jr was more than happy to accept help with his Dad's election from a foreign nation.
8
Correction: Chobani 'migrant rapists'
1
Can anyone contribute to the law suit ?
These bereft people should not bear the financial burden.
27
Jones, Limbaugh et al have a great deal of responsibility for the right-wing mess we're in right now! The only way to shut them and their employers down is through loss of income. In my opinion, they are undermining society and our government with their lies.
27
A comment on NYT's otherwise always insightful "The Daily": I greatly wish you had NOT devoted so much audio time to the horrible blatant lies InfoWars peddled. Their words were nothing but evil, slashing lies that were truly outside the bounds of civil society. Why air a single one of those words?
10
I am humbled by the strength of these families who are moving forward to protect truth in a post-truth era. Truth and justice will prevail.
34
I was horrified to hear a counter service person at a Toronto restaurant recently tell me that Sandy Hook was a big hoax. He heard it on the internet! all sources of this false and dangerous stream of misinformation need to be taken down by people who are on these platforms - since I never look at the relevant sites on Facebook I would not normally be commenting or 'reporting". It makes me sick to think that I should "subscribe" just to be able to call out the garbage and report it. I sent a reply to a friend once on a post associated with her account that it was a well documented hoax and i noticed it was gone almost immediately. Something is working and we need to contribute and use it more
18
Yes!! This should be done with anybody, ANYBODY who disregards the truths and spread lies everywhere.
I really hopes that a judge sends him to pays millions to those grieving families for spreading lies. Millions!!!!
22
It's simply sick that Jones makes money off of denigrating grief-stricken parents who have lost a child due to a shooting. How he sleeps at night is beyond imagination. I hope they take him for every penny he has made with his disgusting radio show.
36
The biggest mistake the Chobani CEO was not to break Jones financially which he could have done given the impact to his business and employees. Happy the Sandy Hook parents are taking him to court. they have suffered enough but to have to endure Jones' stupid followers death threats is unaccepable.
25
When i read a story like this, i am overcome with a grief so profound I want to vomit, shower, and immigrate to a saner and kinder place.
My heart breaks for the suffering of these families who lost loved ones at the senseless and violent Sandy Hook mass shooting. In addition to their tragic and excruciating loss, these beleaguered families have to contend with a mad man, like Alex Jones and his tribe of lunatic fringe followers, who deny the reality of the Sandy Hook shootings/ murders. Not to mention their cruel and brazen actions—Jones’ et al stalking, bullying, and ruining the lives of the Sandy Hook mourners. What a twilight zone hell....
By whatever means available— lawsuits using defamation, libel, slander, First Amendment, or any other legal theory or tort remedy available— we must take these inhuman evil liars down. Where can we donate to the families’ legal team?
Let truth prevail once again in this psychotic, Trumpian, post-truth Amerika.
27
What has happened to our country? To the enlightenment principles of objective reality it was founded on? To the simple ideas of truth, and human decency? A whole industry of falsification and incitement has succeeded in giving us these people.
19
The majority of my immediate family started watching Fox in the mid-90s. Then they moved on to Rushbo, Mark Levin, Breitbart and Drudge. One of them converted to Catholicism to be more like Bill O'Reilly.
It's been impossible to have a discussion with for more than a decade and I don't even try anymore.
They're lost to another world of Trump and the Roman Catholic Church. Sad.
4
It is outrageous enough this person willfully and agresssively denies the loss of all the Sandy Hook victims calling their grief “acting”. But the under belly is he after the “gun grabbers”, that is the motivation. More desparate lunacy from the gun loving right; they will defend their guns even denying truth and insulting families who are still suffering the worst loss a family/parent can endure the loss of a child. Conspirisy theorists always have a screw loose, remember the 9/11 conspiracy theory that it didnt happen it was called a government hoax? This kind of defamation is true damage especially to the remaining young. Serious consequences like loosing his voice on air should be the minimum. Apologies will never be enough.
16
This should have happened much sooner ! I hope these families get the justice they deserve and let it be a lesson to others that hurt people like this too !
Nothing is worse than hurting a grieving parent or child. I know from experience. It hurts.
14
What's in those pills Jones is selling to get such a gullible mean-spirited audience base to believe him - to believe trump?! They're a perfect representation of the trump base. Why aren't they investigating all the "false flags" coming out of the White House? Hasn't trump just succeeded in usurping the rights of citizen players in the NFL?
Hillary's description was accurate but all too kind of the trump-Jones base. What kind of people - likely gun toting 2nd amendment people claiming divine authority - would follow, video tape and harass the victims of such a horrific event as happened in Sandy Hook? Truly depraved people, following a depraved person in Jones and the most depraved of all, our current POTUS.
Hawking survivalist gear to those looking for the apocalypse to come to fruition in their lifetime, even if they have to instigate it to come true - just like evangelicals are doing in Israel.
Does the 2nd Amendment protect deranged speech from a deranged person? Should deranged people really have access to a gun or a microphone?
15
The poison spread by Alex Jones has contaminated our national discourse and done tremendous harm to the ability of our society to have a rational discussion about gun control.
A small, inflamed and vastly misinformed group actually believe Jones's lies. After the massacre in Las Vegas, I overheard two men confidently discussing how government agents actually committed the murders and made it appear Stephen Paddock was the shooter.
We are all suffering, and mass shootings will continue to take place, in large part because of gun fanatics detachment from reality, and refusal to accept the truth or consider how to prevent more deaths. They perversely and blindly prefer to blame the innocent relatives and friends of victims at Sandy Hook and also Parkland.
Their harassment constitutes an ongoing campaign to suppress the truth and hold the entire country hostage to their collective obsession with a homicidal gun-centric culture built on denial and misinformation.
14
Alex Jones and the people who follow him are a national mental health problem.
While our national news media are a disgrace in their weak tea response to attacks including the fake news claims of buffoon in chief.
13
Alex Jones lies and deceptions about not only the massacre that took place at Sandy Hook and others he spins, was/is one of the contributors to why we now have a "Trumped up" Presidency!
May these families be awarded not only victory in the courts, but peace to help heal their grieving hearts! It is a devastation beyond anything imaginable for any parent!
10
Don't put Alex Jone's picture in your paper. It fuels his empire. Think people!!!
8
As much as I despise Alex Jones, it is the multitude of people who choose to listen to this disgusting nonsense that create this problem. He is just a filthy snake-oil salesman who never saw a tragedy he didn't want to profit from (9/11 conspiracy was his "big break"). Why do people chose to listen to this and believe it? What is wrong with them? What is wrong with our society that allows this to occur? Where is this anger and bitterness coming from? In the case of Sandy Hook, it could be argued that we ALL KNOW that the blood of those perfect children is on all our hands. Massacres like that simply do not occur in other countries. Perhaps for some people that guilt is too much to carry and they choose to believe it was fake rather than accept responsibility. Perhaps when they say "freedom" they mean freedom from all responsibility?
15
A large majority of them are deeply religious and prone to believe myths.
3
Jones’ “apology” is an example of right wing speech-infer, infer, infer and get the base all worked up in belief, but when called on the evil they are expressing, they say, “Where did I SAY that? Show me where I said that.” So they are never held accountable.
10
This man is revolting.
12
I hope it goes all the way to the Supreme Court. It's a First Amendment issue, so I have my doubts of it succeeding, but in the meantime Jones should have to pay through the nose for his legal defense.
6
It’s not a first amendment issue, it’s defamation.
It is unfathomable to me that America has a president who lends credibility to shysters like Alex Jones, invites provocateurs like Michael Savage to the White House and has nightly chats with the misinformer Sean Hannity. It's clear that Mr. Trump makes decisions affecting us all that are based on a bizarre set of assumptions.
15
Publicly attacking these sacred, devastated families is despicable. It is hard to imagine people listening/believing him, except for the fact that the same people believe taking a pill will cause them to lose weight.
I wouldn't call this a political issue, more of a stupidity issue.
8
I hope every doctor who signed a death certificate, every emergency room attendant on duty that day, every school employee, and every first responder joins this suit and demands Jones be held responsible for his defamation of their character.
I hope Jones isn’t made to pay millions in reparations only to the families of lost children, but millions in damages to each and _every_ person involved.
“Free” speech? How _dare_ he?
16
Jones could not do this without a huge following of pure knuckleheads. That is the scary part. We live among these people everywhere.
18
The larger point, of course, is that Alex Jones and the conspiracy nuts like him wouldn't be making millions off this garbage we're it not for the legions of ignorant, angry and gullible Americans who gratefully suck this stuff up. The fact that there are millions of these constitutes nothing short of a national disgrace.
The only remedy to this national stain would be a wave of public recantations and apologies before the very audiences who can't get enough of this effluvia, forced by the courts. Oh, and if it costs these smut peddlars millions in judgements and lost revenue, that's ok too.
15
I hope they take him to the cleaners. I saw an interview with him once where he admitted to just making these things up. People like Alex Jones are the most despicable people on the planet. He is subverting our democracy.
11
Is there a legal defense fund established that I can contribute to?
32
"Defense fund" as in to support defending Jones?
Hopefully not to ‘defend’ Jones/Infowars, whose actions have been indefensible. If you’re talking about contributions to help fund the prosecution of these cases, then I’m all in with you.
3
Alex Jones should get what's coming to him for using these parents as props in growing his sales. But how different is he from Fox News.? Roger Ailes (and his cohorts, Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly) are likely the prime suspect in establishing the divide that now infects America. They understand the power that angry audiences have on their bottom lines, and they have little to no accountability as to the outcome of their rants. While free speech is a right, using it as a platform for lies and innuendo to make millions is not. Seeing Alex Jones have to answer for his lying in court, however long this takes, would truly be justice.
33
I am so happy reading this article. Alex Jones needs to face consequences for spreading these lies. Not only deceiving thousands of people but diminishing the REALITY of these people's pain and loss is monstrous. The First Amendment does NOT allow intentionally deceiving people, it allows you to speak your own opinion. He needs to explain to these real people, and their families, how his "opinion" on their real loss is valid. It's not.
22
I have only watched short clips of Jones. My conclusion is that if he acted like that on a public street, the authorities would be called by a concerned citizen, and he would be removed for evaluation and possible commitment by the mental health system.
22
If Alex Jones is convicted and monetarily punished, he will leave the poor parents alone, but he and his followers will simply use the courts’ decisions as “proof” they were right all along and the System is further suppressing the truth. That’s how it is with deniers of all stripes — attempts to disprove their claims are more evidence of the larger conspiracy. There is no end to it.
16
He will be found guilty (I hope) of defaming the families in a civil action which only requires the plaintiffs to show his guilt 'beyond a reasonable doubt;' less legally onerous than 'a preponderance of evidence' criminal conviction.
This is a meritorious law suit and if the families win Alex will be poor, assuming they win a judgment.
Years back the Southern Poverty Law Center?? won a civil action against the white racist living in Northern Idaho and he was forced to sell his compound and retreat ignominiously into oblivion. A just conclusion.
3
Dear NYT,
Apologies in advance if this post is deemed inappropriate – by all accounts, I'm a peace-loving, non-violent person. But alas, Mr. Jones has pushed me over the edge...
Dear Mr. Jones,
Please come to Germany, where I can greet you with open arms and minds – and then proceed to knock every one of your teeth out for your despicable, blowhard, lying mouth. And when you're collecting them off the floor while crying like the whiny baby you are, you can ask yourself if this really happened or just a conspiracy theory of the left any your detractors.
34
Good for you for saying it the way should be done when polite language doesn't get you anywhere.
4
Seems totally appropriate to me.
3
Ol'Alex took one too many blows to head when play football in high school.
10
Or one too few.
2
Please, after all the reporting and commentary, Jones profits by those too willing to participate in evil doings, more subtly practiced by Trump. Despicable and digusting.
12
Alex Jones is a disgusting human being. I hope these families take him for all he’s worth and then some. They have suffered horribly, and the fact that a psycho like Jones is making their pain worse through his lies and defamation is despicable. If Trump is nothing but trash, then Alex Jones is evil, plain and simple, and those who follow him are standing up to be counted with one of the enemies of good people everywhere.
I do not say that lightly: one of my relatives is a Jones conspiracy theorist. You’d never know it from having a simple conversation with him: he’s well-spoken, polite, and intelligent. But at one family event the topic of Sandy Hook somehow came up, and he said it was staged by the government to get people to give up their guns. He said everyone involved was an “actor”, and this came out of the mouth of a guy who is a parent of a child the same age as the ones slaughtered at Sandy Hook. Needless to say, it was an astonishing and painful thing to hear from a relative, and it’s astonishing and horrible that the Sandy Hook families have to constantly relive their nightmare so publicly thanks to Jones and people like my relative who believe the noxious lies he peddles.
27
Sorry, Lindsay, your relative may be well-spoken and polite, but, in truth, he cannot be intelligent. Or nice.
11
I would draw a bright line the minute this person said that this horrific tragedy was staged. He/she would be out of my life forever. It's beyond repugnant - it's truly evil. Why do you still have this person in your life?
3
Rea and Joanna - I understand what you’re saying. I haven’t seen this particular relative in several years and, while we are not close, I hope that he will come to see the error of this line of thinking. He’s still quite young and people grow and mature. The fact that he has a child makes me hope this for him as well.
I was not present when he made those statements at the family event and I would have said something if I had been. But I hope he will see the error of this line of thinking, as will all Jones supporters. They’re believing lies and a hideous man who pedals them, and it’s hurting us all.
My heart goes out to those families. They've had to deal with so much, even without the cruelty of this vile idiot and his minions.
23
The biggest problem with conspiracies is that you need the very same people you've railed against as stupid, inept, lazy, bumbling, and incompetent to be suddenly brilliant, coordinated, capable of huge feats of strategic and tactical excellence to pull off the conspiracies.
The conspiracy theorists will say "Only I will tell you the truth." And the President said "I alone can fix it". Sound similar?
18
Alex Jones' own lawyer has apparently said that Jones doesn't believe the vileness he spews. In that case, he might not be able to hide behind his right to free speech. https://www.gq.com/story/alex-jones-says-he-is-performance-art
13
Karma, Mr. Jones.
17
Whatever other charges and consequences befall these criminals, Alex Jones and everyone associated with his INFOWARS broadcast ~ and all the owners and networks distributing it to other networks should be prevented from ever working in broadcasting and media again
12
Okay, Alex Jones, I get it. How to get rich by being crazy and going out there to find some gullible followers. Try this on for size: Jesus Christ was fake news and his crucifixion was an elaborate hoax invented by religious-based evangelicals.
17
Solitary confinement for life would be too good for this guy. But whatever the outcome of this trial, we need to get serious about rigorous professional credentialing for journalists, just like we do for Doctors, Lawyers, and Architects. When you get to the point that our President is propping up the obviously evil and malicious business of lies that people like Alex Jones vomit into the world, then we have not only reached a crises point, we have gone into the dark lands of nazi-style authoritarianism. Our very Democracy is threatened at its foundations.
8
Alex Jones says he is an "entertainer" not a journalist. It's how he's gotten away with the filth that comes out of his mouth.
That Jones has a voice at all reflects the vast, cavernous stupidity between the ears that hear him.
The president disgorges narcissistic venom and insanity and the masses genuflect.
These weeds grow where the soil is ready.
17
It doesn't matter if they win or lose. The suits will consume hopefully all of his resources. I have always believed we should take a page from trump and sue, sue, sue. Obama should have sued when trump said he bugged his office. The FBI agents should sue trump when he says they spied on him. Clinton should sue him and anyone else for pizzagate. The only way to shut these pieces of filth down (including trump) is to bankrupt them through legal expenses. Winning is immaterial.
10
Besides selling lies, Jones sells diet supplements...
That says it all!
13
The depravity of such a large section of our population is truly shocking. It is not only mortifying, but also very dangerous.
17
Don't forget stupidity also.
7
'Defamation cases are difficult to win'? Jones screamed this out over the airwaves and people ate it up. Some are now serving time—surprised that they haven't claimed that Jones' created the sensationalist false narrative for which they are now serving time.
I haven't listened to his show, nor will I; I find this such a cheap way to try and make a buck—living off the tragedy of others.
5
It's time to go after the conspiracy theorists in this country. Is there a fund-raising page for these family to fight this battle?
13
Even if Jones loses this case, and even if Trump is drummed out or locked up, we still have a much bigger problem: the great number of deranged and desperate people who gave rise to them in the first place. Others will take their place until we come to our senses.
17
"Free speech" should not include the ability to make money by inventing bizarre and groundless conspiracy theories and using them to inflict deliberate, vicious, ongoing emotional torture on these families. I hope the Sandy Hook families win their lawsuit and strip Jones of both his money and his media platform.
12
Hoping that this lawsuit breaks Mr. Jones' bank and puts him out of business for his cruelty to these families.
11
Alex Jones, shameful. Sounds to me like he did start screaming “fire! fire!” in a movie theater. Should he be silenced? I think so. Let’s see if a court of law agrees. Sadly, they may well not.
Once again, the Sandy Hook parents and families suffer. No end to it.. Just the same, I am happy they are confronting these tormentors.
As we speak, somewhere in the US, a young male is eyeing a firearm and fantasizing about shooting up a school, a movie theater, a church service or a mall and the only response we have to stop the violence is a prayer vigil and “round table” nothing chat by politicians.
To the gun enthusiasts all I can say is; keep your guns, register them, learn how to use them safely, lock them up at home and be mindful that people get killed when you do not do it. If you cannot be responsible, we will do it for you.
7
Alex Jones uses his megaphone to exhort his followers to cause very real emotional, and in some cases, physical harm to people who have already suffered more than most can imagine. If that isn't akin to yelling "Fire!" in a crowded theater, a form of speech the Supreme Court has clearly defined as not protected by the First Amendment, then I don't know what is.
10
At his sentencing, Alex Jones must be permanently prevented from making any future profits from this story.
But what can be done about those who believe and defend his lies? Most will never admit they were wrong.
5
Alex Jones is completely free to spew whatever opinions he wants, as protected by the 1st Amendment. I don't contest this.
However, when your speech does harm to people, you are still responsible for its effects, and will have to suffer the consequences. The Sandy Hook parents are not suing to shut down Alex Jones' speech; they're suing for the damages he's inflicted.
With every right comes a responsibility, and Alex Jones has conveniently ignored his responsibilities that his conspiracy talk has brought on.
10
Alex Jones is repulsive, reckless, harassing, and irresponsible. I hope the Sandy Hook families prevail and take him for every nickel he has.
I could not imagine a worse tragedy befalling a parent and a family than to lose a young child, especially in the horrifying way in which the Sandy Hook children lost their lives. The grief and pain is beyond comprehension.
As if these families haven't endured enough, along comes a parasite like Alex Jones who spins horrific lies about their losses, the reality of how those losses happened, and then defames and slanders the victims and their families even further. Jones is unspeakably vile.
I hope these families win their lawsuits, not only to punish Jones, but to hopefully begin to put an end to the disgusting cesspool of right-wing lies that have so poisoned our national discourse. It's about time that these liars and slanderers, who goad their followers to harass and threaten innocent Americans, to finally face some consequences. Free speech is a right, but it is not absolute in all circumstances. We need an end to the conspiracy theorists, the "alternative facts", the right-wing propaganda, the anti-media, anti-truth crowd. They need to rescind their bullhorns and slither back under the rocks from which they came.
28
Dominic, I agree with most of your comment, but when you make a statement about "Right Wing Lies", I don't see any difference between the 2 parties, both operate on half truths, semi-truths, outright lies and a whole bunch of info being left unsaid. It isn't all one side doing this. Both sides operate on the premise that second place is first loser (actually, I operate that way also, but I don't have a country to run).
2
It is about time this crackpot and his followers were brought into court to answer for the hurt they have caused grieving parents. It is not solely the parents these crazies go after. I purchased a book written by a survivor and left a review on Amazon, and I had several people taunting me - right on the Amazon website. These are actually assaults - on grieving parents - this behavior should be,criminalized. In the meantime, Alex Jones should be sued - and sued - and sued - by the individual parents - by the survivors - by the school itself.
32
It's bad enough that the Sandy Hook parents have to deal with what for most of us is the unimaginable loss of a child in an unspeakable act of violence. What Mr. Jones does is beyond adding insult to injury. His conspiracy theories and attacks on the Sandy Hook families goes beyond free speech. It adds to their sorrow by victimizing the parents a second time, falsely and maliciously making obviously false claims that Sandy Hook was a hoax and the children didn't die.
I cannot understand what kind of person could be so callous. No doubt he and his followers think of themselves as good people with a conscience.
But they're not. They are at minimum profoundly misguided. There is an evil lack lurks in the hearts of people like Jones. He behavior should not be protected by the First Amendment. He belongs in jail, his empire shut down, and he should be ostracized for his mean, evil words.
10
Alex Jones and Donald Trump are birds of the same feather. It would be a victory for truth and decency to see this suit go to trial and result in a verdict for the plaintiffs, and would ne persuasive authority for future suits against purveyors of lies and "alternative facts".
13
There is another lesson in this article. Mark Bankston, the head of the legal team representing the families, noted that this legal firm's young lawyers grew up listening to Jones's radio and found Jones amusing.
Now they have have an understanding of the consequences of treating Alex Jones as entertainment. Jones and his ilk take genuine
tragedies in which real people died and distort these tragedies for profit.
Jones may be a charlatan but he could not profit if his listeners did not indulge their own dark sides by listening and supporting his malignness.
13
Does this not also apply to our US Congress? They have denied the atrocity at Sandy Hook Elementary School by giving only their "thoughts and prayers."
15
It is shameful so many give this huckster legitimacy. He was exposed as a fraud a long time before this Sandy Hook mess. These people profit over sowing discord. Shame on him, shame on us.
11
If somebody came up to me after I held my dead kid in my arms and accused me of being an actor and lying about my 6 year old kid's death at the hands of heavily armed madman, I would put a bullet in their head.
10
It will not be enough that he apologize for doing this. The families of Sandy Hook should get a large portion of every sale the Infowars site has made since Jones started spewing his nonsense.
14
“Lock him up!” It is beyond belief what these families have endured from this awful human being. Tragic to have your beloved child murdered... then to be hounded by this brazen liar who incites the ignorant. Why is he allowed to hound grief stricken parents?
8
Alex Jones is a man without a conscience. These pathologically sick people have to seen as such. Giving this sick person a platform to broadcast was in years past against the law.
7
trump and MAGAots like jones are the future of america. Only a fool would still give their allegiance and hopes to such a broken country.
#calexit - decent people can do better than this.
8
Decent people can do better than this, Mark, which is why we all need to work together as a country to speak up against vile trolls like Jones, Trump, and the people who support them. They are not, and should not be, the future of this nation. That’s not a nation I want to live in, and I suspect you don’t want to live in it either. But simply crying “#calexit” isn’t going to change anything. California isn’t going anywhere and neither are you, so why don’t you start talking about what you can do to be a force for hope, goodness, and change against the forces of reprehensibility sweeping this country? We’re not all fools, and I resent the implication that I and thousands of others must be because we still have hope for America in the midst of these dark times.
4
What does it say about the childlike and naive character of America that so many Americans are duped so easily by these endless and absurd conspiracy theories, that so many Americans fit the apocryphal PT Barnum's suckers born every minute?
10
It says that the US education system, which used to be the best in the world, has been dumbed down on purpose for the last 40 years. I have a job where I visit many schools and you would not believe the stuff I have seen. My favorite is a quote from a principal from a school in a very depressed area of San Francisco, "As long as they are not fighting we don't care what they do." The amount of rote learning and 'teaching to the test' is overwhelming.
Read about the way that Texas has influenced textbooks in this country and you'll see how ridiculous it is and how much influence they have.
10
And now we have eliminated the test for literacy teaching candidates had to pass in order to be licensed (here in New York.)
It was "too hard" and "too many people couldn't pass it."
A simple, not very long test for basic literacy knowledge was too hard for our public school teachers. Wonder what will be next.
Our greatest enemy is ignorance.
15
This despicable man should be relieved of every last penny he possesses and banned from any and all public forums for life.
9
Only a horrible person aligned with the forces of greed and evil would say what Alex Jones has said. He is without honor or merit. He exploits unfortunate, and ignorant,and uneducated, and unsophisticated people. He makes large sums of money by telling lies, and perpetuating falsehoods.
10
God speed to these families. I hope their attorney, Bankston, is good enough to bankrupt Jones.....who is a virtual petri dish of malignant evil that spreads the disease of hatred so prevalent in our society.
Like trump, Jones cares only for himself and cares not about the harm and hurt he inflicts on others.
16
I tried listening to Alex Jones, for the same reason that I tried listening to Fox News. I am simply not inclined to listen to anyone who is yelling at me. That some people not only listen to but believe someone like Mr. Jones speaks to a dark force in our society. It is not the deep state but the deep ignorance that pervades our society concerning how to become properly informed about anything. The distortion of the truth depends on this ignorance. Without education, and the knowledge that it underlies all solutions to problems, individuals and societies are lost.
22
This is an important story for anyone who cares about the debasement of truth in the United States today and how it is propagated by Trump and his media allies. And just because this guy falls into the worst of the worst category doesn't negate the seriousness of the daily distortion of reality by Trump, Hannity and their ilk over matters less grotesque. Trump has praised this guy. It isn't hard to draw a straight line from Jones to our current "deplorable" state of affairs. It runs through the White House and, unfortunately, the Republican Party which effectively is at the mercy of what the party itself once considered its fringe element. No policy, political belief or partisan strategy justifies what Jones, Trump and company are doing to democracy in America.
18
I have a relative that was close to Sandy Hook so I know it was real as do, of course, most thinking people. How those on the right can believe a horrible human such as Alex Jones...well, they have a problem as well. They ARE the problem. Alex Jones is not the only one they believe. They should start looking at multiple news sources and stop taking the bait.
8
The lawyer is right; Alex Jones is primarily a money-crazed business man. He promotes conspiracy theories out of personal conviction, but at the end of the day he’s mostly interested in selling his products. His insane claims are related as scare stories followed up by an Alex Jones approved product which will ‘save’ you from the horrible fate he’s just described. Jones, like Trump, has figured out that what many people really want isn’t hope or a sense of positive direction; they just want enemies to hate. Anf there’s a lot of money to be made off of hate, if your moral compass is damaged enough to permit it and you have no regard for the lives left in wreckage behind you.
10
"And there’s a lot of money to be made off of hate, if your moral compass is damaged enough to permit it and you have no regard for the lives left in wreckage behind."
Well said.
5
I have thought about this for a long time, why jones would do/say these horrible things? What is his motivation? Has he said the same things about the recent school shootings? His parents did a terrible job raising him. I kindly ask him to leave my country.
7
Retracting the story after enormous damage is caused does not either a) suddenly make his followers not believe it or b) undo the enormous damage it caused (all whilst making him millions).
In the way that hulk hogan shut down gawker, perhaps this legal strategy can shut down places like infowars.
6
There are people in my sphere, people I cannot divorce from my life, who believe in the craziest things, some things like flat or hollow earth theories, simply laughable, others like false flags and Sandy Hook conspiracies, downright heinous.
I tell myself, we are not what we believe, and try to find the common ground between us so we can get along. But every time I read about the pain and anguish suffered by the those who have lived through the deaths of their beloved, and have to be doubly traumatized by these peddlers of lies, my blood boils.
I hear myself screaming, "Are you nuts? What's the matter with you?" A chasm opens up. Words are exchanged, mean, nasty words that lead to more anger, hatred, and alienation. Eventually, love and forgiveness and common ground prevail as it must if we are to get along.
But that's with people I love, not with people like Alex Jones, or Donald Trump, nor those faceless others who not only believe in the hate and ignorance they spew, but act out these beliefs and perpetrate them on others. I have no love and no forgiveness for them, even though they know not what they do.
So do I build the walls I so decry and I want to say, I can't help it, but that's not true.
3
According to the Daily, if Jones' believes the statements he is making are true his first amendment rights must be protected. This is terrifying. How can someone who is responsible for inflicting so much pain not be held accountable. Best of luck to the parents. I am pulling for you.
6
You have to be devoid of a conscience and all human decency to do what Alex Jones does for a living. I hope the plaintiffs put him out of business. Who needs Russia and ISIS, with enemies like him? How this country allows this type of propaganda to flourish shows that there is something very faulty in our laws that needs correcting.
5
This is exactly how alternate facts need to be addressed. The First Amendment does not protect those who falsely yell fire in a crowded theater, nor should it protect those who proliferate demonstrably false facts as truth. There is no alternate truth, they are lies and defamation.
9
Alex Jones, like his BFF Donald Trump, are dual threats to our country. Both play to the gullible and the ignorant, who believe everything they hear or see on the internet as factually true. People susceptible to the claims of Alex Jones are those who refuse to accept abject truth, because it doesn't fit into a changing world that they don't fully grasp. Trump knows that. He designed claims of "fake news" as a means to discredit the media when they either publish articles that attack him or a defensive measure to discredit Robert Mueller's investigation of the Russian probe. Jones, like Trump, assume that the First Amendment protects them from judicial accountability and gives them unfettered license to lie at will. Matter of fact, Alex Jones is the very core of Trumpism by attacking the very foundation of our nation regardless of cost to our legacy for future generations. Both Jones and Trump must be stopped, either by threatening Alex Jones's financial structur, and in the case of Trump, at the ballot box, not just in 2018, but in every subsequent election thereafter. Why? Our democracy is at stake. Our national integrity is threatened by the likes of those two hucksters.
6
There is not enough money in the world to take away the pain of losing a child. However, there enough is to shut down a lying hate monger like Jones and I hope the courts award as much as possible to these parents.
10
Please do not settle these cases. Make Jones see the evidence, sit in the witness charge and answer questions in front of a jury. The world needs to see this guy, and his perverse industry for what it is.
The right of Citizen's free speech is to guarantee citizens the right to debate public policy and speak truth to power without reprisal. There is no first amendment right to lie for money.
4
Maybe its time to bring back the Fairness Doctrine that Reagan deliberately destroyed--it didn't hamper free speech but it held outright liars like Jones accountable. It was a good compromise. It's absolutely no random coincidence that after the Fairness Doctrine went down, Fox, Limbaugh, Jones, and their ilk flourished and that has put us basically where we are today with "alternative facts" and "fake news."
11
I wish I could be at that jury. It would give me great pleasure to reward every penny, home and other assets he has to the victims of his despicable lies.I’m wondering how he explains what happened to Adan Lanza, the shooter, or his mother, whom he killed before he went on his rampage or how he can’t explain that an entire town, including the police department, hospitals and funeral parlors were in on this charade, and even tore down the school afternoon to keep it going, and yet absolutely no one admitted that it was all a sham. Are they all liars too?If the lawsuit doesn’t award the families everything Jones owes, the people of Sandy Hook should sue him for defamation of their characters.
5
The biggest problem with conspiracies is that, in order for them to work, you need hundreds or thousands of people telling exactly the same lie, for years. While I don't follow Mr. Jones or other news media entertainers, I have looked into this story enough to know that he has no comments from anyone that was in on this conspiracy and is now telling the truth. In fact, pretty much the only 'expert' testimony he has is comments from a Mr. Halbig, a contract school safety consultant. Mr. Halbig was not on site during or immediately after the shooting. Were there discrepancies in the Sandy Hook story? Probably, but we are dealing with people, who have less-than-perfect memories. One of the big 'reasons' Mr. Halbig claims indicates a fake shooting was the lack of trauma helicopters at the school following the shooting. A search on the internet reveals no indication of trauma helicopters at the Columbine shooting, nor any at the Las Vegas shooting. Were both of these fake, as well, or is it likely that other means of transporting the wounded were available?
2
There are conspiracy theories, and there are outright lies. This is the latter, which is why there is no "evidence," or even *suggestion* (a term I use here to stand in for things that give credence to conspiracy theories, but don't actually prove them because if they did then, duh, they wouldn't be theories anymore!), to support this claim. Actual, long-standing conspiracy theories often employ verbal accounts, videos, research, etc. to paint a picture of what the theorist thinks really happened. As far as I know, Jones did no such thing with this Sandy Hook story. He just...SAID it. Over and over again. Saying something a bunch of times doesn't make it a proper "theory."
2
TRUMPED UP
Webster's Definition: fraudulently concocted : spurious trumped-up charges. deliberately done or created to make someone appear to be guilty of a crime.
7
There was a time you could not make a false claim about toothpaste without the FTC coming after you...Apparently now anyone can claim anything without fear of reprisal...There is nothing "Great" about this development...At the very least, Alex Jones should be held to the standards we require of toothpaste.
6
This explains the Trump base as well as anything else I've read about them. Mrs. Rodham Clinton was right - deplorable.
10
Frankly, I think that Alex Jones should be penalized, fined and thrown off the air. His immoral ranting has caused unbelievable harm to the Sandy Hook victims' families. Why anyone believes him is incredible to me.
He is a liar, just like the president he supports.
28
Birds of the feather together.
2
First time I've heard about this clown Jones. Well if you can't do anything productive in your life, you can always become a Rush Limbaugh wannabe.
Fairly pitiful and surely despicable.
10
People like Alex Jones are giving false flag operations a bad name.
5
Another element of tragedy to this story. You can't publicly challenge government narratives anymore because you'll be conflated with a man who claims Sandy Hook is a hoax, the government is turning frogs gay, and Democrats are sexually enslaving children at a pizza shop.
Wouldn't it be the greatest...irony? or just a turn of events?...If Alex Jones was HIMSELF a false flag?!
3
Freedom of speech means you can say whatever you want, but what you can’t do is lie and expect not to be held accountable for it. Additionally, there are not two sides to every story, all opinions are not equal and there are certain things that can’t be debated. Slavery wasn't a choice. The Holocaust happened. Sandy Hook happened. It's time Alex Jones was held to account for his pernicious, disgusting lies.
19
Alex Jones should be sued into oblivion.
The fact that Trump is one of his fans is a national disgrace. The fact that there are so many people in this country who listen to and approve of these men soils our country and illustrates a deep sickness in our society.
23
Only in 21st century America could an ignorant ranter like Jones get any traction. America is regressing and who will stay the slide?
15
This should have happened 10 years ago. And not just to him but the rest of his ilk. They have done much harm and caused much dissension, all for profit. When their lies stand uncontested the 'truth' of them grows. We neutered the Klan with law suites. It is time to do so with these so called 'conspiracy' theorist who slander good people, ruining their name and reputation. Be it the pizza shop owner who is accused of running a child prostitution ring from the non-existent basement of this restaurant to the Sandy Hook families. These lies have consequences. It is time that their purveyors paid a price.
16
Jones, and the President for that matter, are shallow, uninformed charlatans. But it’s their supporters that are the, yes I said it, deplorables. Shame on them all for harassing the parents and compounding their grief.
17
I hope they bankrupt him.
20
Hoist with his own petard.
As we say in Texas, "Some people just need killin'." As a Texan, I put Alex Jones in that category: he's just plain evil.
10
Hit him and his ilk where it hurts--in the pocketbook! Best of Luck to these families
12
The view from here in Europe is that across the Atlantic the lunatics are taking over the asylum.
19
If the Sandy Hook families can't prevail in this suit, I have no more interest in democracy or the "impartial" judicial system that accompanies it. American society is riddled with an ignorant cancer.
8
Democrats that are still trying to compromise with a party full of liars, cheaters, and fanatical true believers are helping Trump destroy our Republic. They tell you compromise is evil and a sign of weakness. They lie constantly. They twist the rules into pretzels. They go bunkers over supposed abuses by Democrats then turn around and do far worse.
These people are not going to compromise no matter how hard you beg. Every time you give up something to encourage them to negotiate, they claim victory and call you suckers, then move the goal posts further right again.
No matter what you give them, no matter what Republic nominees asks policies you vote for, it is never enough.
They call you socialist and unpatriotic no matter what you do, even as they practice socialism for billionaires and fly the treasonous flag of the Confederacy, and send soldiers to die for lies.
The Constitution depends on the rule of law. The rule of law is a careful search for truth through logic and evidence. Trump and everyone that still supports him are actively attacking the truth, the rule of law, and most articles and Amendments to the Constitution. Read the Constitution line by line and compare it to Republican policy.
These people say that government is the enemy. If your government is your enemy, you're a traitor. Compromise with traitors is conspiracy to commit treason. Voting for Trump's nominations and legislation is normalizing his attacks on the Constitution.
Children are dying.
10
May he go to the dirt a wretched and destitute creature. As wretched and destitute as his conscience.
11
Nothing should give us more delight than seeing the despicable Alex Jones behind bars.
10
How can I donate to these families' legal costs ? The vile psychopaths profiting from corrosive conspiracy theories need to be taken down - legally.
5
Godspeed to these families. I hope they ground him into the dirt and take every cent he has.
7
Alex Jones is in cahoots with the NRA and the Trump both. The NRA can’t logically deny guns need to be eliminated because they cause so many deaths (16 school shootings so far this year) so they do the next best thing and claim, through their troll, that the killings didn’t happen! Brilliant! No deaths. All made up. All Fake News. And Trump surely encourages infowars and Jones because otherwise he would be seen as a do nothing president who won’t stop gun violence. I can just imagine the 3 way conversations from that blocked phone to Jones and the NRA.
8
President Obama should have sued Trump.
13
This is probably the most "fake news" show out there. And yet the president follows this show and listens to this lunatic.
Another reason why there is so much hatred in this country. People actually watch this garbage.
I prefer "Tuck Buckford." He may be more believable than this fool.
4
What a monster. Why would he defame the memory of those poor innocent children who died at the hands of that murderer. And, why would a put their parents through this hell and misery?
That's the problem in our society today. Nothing is sacred anymore. There are no morals, values or scruples. In the case of the Sandy Hook Massacre the mother of the monster who killed her and then killed all those children took him to a gun range and refused to put him in an institution where he could get the help he needed.
And, now this. Obviously this individual has no moral values whatsoever and thinks it's perfectly alright to lie about the Truth. As to conspiracy theories, this is a nutty as it gets, trying to deny the existence of an actual event is right up there with trying to deny that the Holocaust actually took place.
Still, all in all, First Amendment Rights not withstanding, the hottest places in hell should be reserved for people who don't want to acknowledge the truth, and tell the Truth, the whole Truth and nothing but the Truth.
17
People like Jones peddle such nonsense because they know that there is an audience which will accept their absurd claims. And that's a major reason why we have the clown occupying the Presidency of the United States.
27
Jones, his cohorts and followers are the price America has paid for electing Trump who has awakened hate and racism. A foul lot.
21
Conspiracy theorists like Jones, the President, the members of the Freedom Caucus, Holocaust deniers, the 911 Truth Movement, etc., are committing a type of a libel that is also arguably a form of a hate crime. The collective harm that is being caused by the array of false claims they are making is eroding our trust in our institutions, and each other - after all, that is its intent. They are not exercising their right to free speech. They are destroying free speech through propaganda.
23
Why, poor Jones. As Trump would say, accusing him is "lies, lies, lies". And it is "sad, sad, sad" that such an honest man and great admirer of our good president, be so savagely crucified.
"Unfair, unfair, unfair"
4
I hope that they sue that piece of slime for every penny he's got and that he is banned from radio, TV and the internet.
I wake up every day hoping that the abject nightmare that is this right-wing-hatred-and-greed-fueled presidency has been just that, a nightmare, and is over.
17
Well said, Carolyn.
1
Alex Jones is one of the most reprehensible people walking around today. I hope that they take everything from him and that he ends up living off of banana peels. Jones is basically almost as bad as the murderer at Sandy Hook. There are only slight degrees of difference between them. To abuse the families of murdered children for money - well, I cannot think of many worse things you could do.
25
What is missing in people's lives that they give credence to, and occasionally act on the bile that this huckster spews out relentlessly?
I wish the best results for the Sandy Hook families , who are standing up against this creep even in the face of intimidation tactics by his unquestioning and easily manipulated herd of followers.
15
One or more of his conspiracy theorist followers will eventually turn on him.
When they find out he is an agent in deep deep cover for the deep deep state.
I would imagine his personal security costs dwarf his legal bills. He knows what his playmates are.
Just a question of time.
6
When did America become an evil country so full of evil people? Surely this was not true through most of my (long) life here? Americans were the good guys.
Nor could it have happened so quickly simply because there is an evil man in the White House? What happened to this country?
That these devastated and courageous families should have to come in contact with such filth after what they have already been through is heartbreaking.
21
So many questions about the united failed states, Nancy, and not one answer. Perhaps try asking an easier question: Why are you part of it?
#calexit
4
Nancy, with due respect...if you lived a long time, you surely saw the way black people were being lynched and disallowed from going to the same pools as white kids. You surely saw poverty. You saw the Iraq War and how the Iraqis suffered over the craven desire for oil. You're telling us none of that seemed bad to you? If you were aware of all this and just never that bothered because it didn't affect your life, that's the kind of social disconnect that gives rise to people like Alex Jones.
2
Very good points.
But this is different in some qualitative way I believe from those (also evil) events you name.
And hard to fight because in some ways the man is a total nonentity - a mosquito; while racial inequality was a grizzly bear requiring a full out war. This is evil made casual, normal, by individuals for no reason even of ideology at all. Almost it seems for fun. Evil simply for the sake of evil, for sport.
The First Amendment allows Jones to spread any malicious lies he wishes without fear of pre-airing/sales censorship.
It certainly does not prevent him from civil litigation for harming people who are thrusT into the public eye by circumstance when he tells lies, especially when he makes no legitimate attempts to determine the truth of his statements and does so with legal malice - a Supreme Court decision I will forever be grateful to the Times for forcing the court to hand down.
I am perplexed that the Times, with its collection of records and reports on the Sandy Hook school shooting, the Clinton pizzagate shooting, Jones’s records as an actual investigator of fact, etc, led it to leave out words like “deliberate lies” and “politically motivated acts to warp the truth” from today’s story.
He has, you say, made millions of dollars from this behavior too.
So why be so frackn gentle in your honest reportage of a threat to the nation when POTUS extolled his honesty and virtue?
I didn’t say scream, I said be honest.
18
" ... the families are seeking society’s verdict on 'post truth' culture ... "
GUILTY. GUILTY. GUILTY.
9
I hope that the defendants lose this case and are punished for their despicable, defamatory lies.
9
Take him down. The only actor here is Jones - not only is he a bad one, he is an abusive criminal who deserves to pay for his crimes. Lock him up.
20
I wonder what is going on in Jones' mind. He cannot be altogether sane. We have all met someone at some point who likes to talk about "govt conspiracies" but Jones is a whole other level of oddness.
10
He makes a lot of money from his lies, as Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, Fox News, and the rest of the right wing liars. The tragedy is, too many middle class, and working class white people, stupidly fall for that nonsense; it speaks to them. Fools.
5
The people "we've all met" talk about longstanding theories about which there have been books, documentaries, etc.-- which doesn't prove them right, obviously (or they wouldn't be theories anymore), but at least highlight why anyone would be interested in the topic in the first place. Jones is in a league of his own in that he doesn't stick to these "classics" or "greatest hits" but throws in really comical and ridiculous things that, to the best of my knowledge, NO ONE ELSE has ever claimed or tried to investigate, i.e. "the government puts chemicals in water that makes frogs gay." Then, he sells you a water filtration system for a bagillion dollars.
What really gets me about this guy, aside from the outlandish statements that don't even really qualify as fully-formed theories (the frog thing, for example: What chemicals? What is the motive? How has it been suggested that this happens? Did it come to you in a dream, Alex?), is the amount of TIME he devotes to this. His shows are like 4+ hours long each!
2
The lawsuit is not attempting to "silence" Alex Jones. The lawsuit is attempting to force him to take financial responsibility for what he says.
Words have consequences. Up to now, Mr. Jones words have had agonizingly painful consequences for the families of the Sandy Hook victims. The only consequences for him have been an increase in viewers and profits.
Say anything you wish, Mr. Jones. Lie and distort to your heart's content. But be prepared to back up your words with your income and your assets.
45
Where can I make a contribution to the families legal expenses?
27
It is apparent that anti-gun progressives now oppose freedom of speech for those who do not agree with them.
1
Freedom of speech, like every freedom, is subject to limits. Commercial speech is regulated, obscenity is not protected, etc. Libel and defamatory statements are not protected. That is the basis of the suit against Jones.
18
No right or freedom is absolute. Jones may have the right to say whatever fool thing he wants, but he does not have the right to be free from consequences. He has used hate speech and lies to enrich himself for years, and now he's being held accountable. About time, too.
4
Sir, surely you can understanding the difference between freedom of speech and spreading vicious, hurtful lies about the tragedy at Sandy Hook for profit. This isn’t a difference of opinion. It is malicious lies, deceit, and inuendo with either intentional or careless disregard of the damage inflicted on parents of murdered children.
3
As an integral part of the big lie underpinning Trump's quasi-insane, conspiratorial, and thoroughly dishonest nonsense, Jones and his ilk are key to understanding why we are where we are today.
If it were up to me, there'd be financial pain and social exile to all who peddle untruths; as it is, these people are getting filthy rich and are seen as folk heroes to the tinfoil hat zeroes supporting them.
Take everything he's got via the courts.
17
"We" are here today because "you" do not chose to be somewhere better.
#calexit
Jones does not believe what he spouts on his show. It is all just to create controversy and get listeners. Much like all other media, he is just calling attention to himself. A despicable creep, but nothing special. I hope the suit causes his bankruptcy.
20
I don't view this case as an issue of trying to prevent Mr. Jones from saying what he wants. Only that he must suffer the consequences of his words. If his words and actions infringe upon another person's rights and/or life in a significant way (e.g. the family of a victim who had to move due to death threats), then they should have recourse to sue him for their loss of such rights. If a person maliciously yells "fire" in a crowded space and then my loved one gets trampled and killed, don't I have recourse to sue that person for inciting the riot/stampede in the first place?
190
well put and exactly right.
8
This sounds reasonable until you realize it doesn't withstand much scrutiny. I absolutely don't want to live in a country with free speech "unless you infringe upon another person's rights and/or life in a significant way." Other peoples' subjective feelings and sensibilities generally shouldn't dictate the parameters of acceptable speech.
Alex Jones is absolutely a moron and a clown. I don't doubt the pain he's caused the Sandy Hook families for even a second. But if you truly believe in free speech, this isn't a hard case. Moronic, idiotic and false speech is still...speech.
4
Mark Davis I understand your intention - but your thinking is flawed. L.Bodiford was absolutely correct.
Free speech is a right but with rights, come responsibilities. The courts have upheld this particular principle time after time - both in the US and elsewhere as it happens. You cannot slander somebody or cause undue harm with falsehoods and think that you're 'protected' by free speech. Unfortunately, in this era of social media and 'alternative facts' people are getting away with things that they shouldn't. But the fact that they do, still doesn't make it right - nor is it an example of protected speech. It's merely an example of a crime going unpunished.
1
To navigate this mercenary post-truth world and hopefully get back to a land where facts, honesty, and decency matter, you unfortunately have to temporarily forget about ideas, forget about facts, and instead focus on numbers. It’s all about the money and the numbers of followers. A corollary to “follow the money” is “restrict the money.” Cut off Jones where it hurts him most, which means boycotting him, his products, and his advertisers. And instead of defamation, the plaintiffs should be focusing on emotional harm and threats made to personal safety, both of which have real monetary costs that can be recouped. Finally, regarding numbers, get out and vote, every time, every chance you get.
18
A reminder that Jones was the one spreading the conspiracy about the Clintons running a child sex-trafficking ring out of a pizza shop in DC. It's beyond belief that anyone gives this a thought, but some guy from NC went in and shot the place up looking to liberate the nonexistent children. Jones has already incited violence by peddling outrageous lies. That is clearly not protected by the First Amendment.
53
And Trump praises him and appears on his show. Alex Jones is contemptible. The President's relationship with him is far worse.
13
The down side of the First Amendment.
13
The First Amendment doesn't protect false/defamatory speech. And how much more false and defamatory can you get than to accuse a man of faking his young son's death?
I understand that the reporters who wrote this story had to be circumspect, but it doesn't seem that flimsy a case to me. And nothing could serve our society better at this moment than to see an evil clown like Alex Jones pay through the nose for peddling his disgusting lies.
6
Fox News, and their commentators, Rush Limbaugh, Alex Jones, and the rest of the right wing mouths, are professional liars. They’re allowed to operate, because they serve the corporate power structure, and the rich. What they do is keep democracy in check. It works for them, because the white middle and working classes fall for the lies.
35
Imagine the cruelty that this creep, Jones, has visited upon the parents/families of the murdered young, young children of Sandy Hook! I wouldn't be surprised to find that Jones realizes that his entire premise is untrue. He is merely feeding his crazed listeners these lies to make all those dollars. How perfect is it that Trump finds him "amazing." Shame on them. It would be a wonderful thing if the lawsuit could relieve Jones of all of his ill-gotten gains. The parents and families of the children and all killed that horrible day should know for certain how much so many of us have been feeling their pain and grief and how much we long for some relief for them. Peace and love to all of them.
34
"It would be a wonderful thing if the lawsuit could relieve Jones of all of his ill-gotten gains."
Agreed! It would certainly blow a cold wind through the Lies 'n' Libel industry, too. Sean Hannity, for example, might decide this is a good time to retire.
"The parents and families of the children and all killed that horrible day should know for certain how much so many of us have been feeling their pain and grief and how much we long for some relief for them."
Amen. :`-(
13
Perhaps Alex Jones is auditioning for a role in the White House.
The bar is low. Very low.
27
I only hope these plaintiffs win BIG! How can I help?
33
Every single slimeball like Jones needs to be sued, to be made accountable for the damage they've done.
I find it amazing that ANYBODY actually believes this garbage.
To attack parents who've lost children like this is beyond reprehensible.
The constitution does not protect stuff like Jones spews.
35
Public schools are unconsciously aiding people who enter and use their hide and be silent approace to mass murder. Many children -sadly, the smallest and youngest-are presumed too stupid to be able to run for their lives when a maniac with a gun is in the building. Just as in NYC we didin't make fire escapes and fire drills absolute must haves in all school buildings-forcing drills annually, aty least- schools should be teaching their kids-including 4 years olds, how to escape from a class via emergency exit and how to run in all directions, calling out to observers and others to call police. Predators-even with guns-must choose their victims and kill them-one at a time. By asking teachers to take 30 4 or 5 year olds into a closet or bathroom and be silent, is an invitation to disaster. Rather, all should be able to escape to the outside where they could run off-like rolling billiard balls after the"break" shot--ever further from one another and being easily killed by badly aimed shots.
Forcing frightened kids into closets and their breathing can be heard or sensed. Instead build escape doors into classrooms, like fire escapes-allow every child a chance to get away in seconds , making the madness of gun toting killers les likely to be effective as shooting kids in groups,all in locked rooms and schools, where they're proverbial "fish in a barrel".
2
Young children usually freeze or try to hide when danger strikes. This is why firefighters find kids dead under the child's bed after a fire.
3
Or ...maybe we could ban assault weapons, limit clip size, and require licensing for all firearms so that people who shoot up schools, movie theaters, restaurants, malls, concerts cannot get their hands on these tools of war.
We should not be cowering in fear, terrified our children will be murdered at school, always wondering if we will be murdered at a public event, and barricading public spaces as if we are in a war zone. This is a problem that exists because we do not do what is obvious, simple, and done everywhere else in the civilized world.
The desire of a few gun fetishists to get their jollies with battlefield weapons is far outweighed by the right of the people to be secure in their daily lives.
11
More doors for perps to enter the school you say? Teach children to run from gunfire? Why do humans take cover when bullets are flying through the air? To avoid getting hit.
1
Truth like a bird in flight away in the night.
I wonder and wonder, endless words pushing someones agenda, left, right this has become the age of nonsense.
I must go within to seek the truth and even then, i wonder and wonder
2
Take every cent Alex Jones has. Terminate his employment and ban him for life from ever working in any media-related profession. And forbid him from ever speaking about the event to anyone. Take away his 1st Amendment rights with this case. This man needs prayers from us to save his soul.
9
He doesn't need prayers because he doesn't believe in them. He should be in jail with dangerous criminals or in solitary confinement so he can preach to walls.
1
The only question is why it took so long. These people, like Jones and Rush Limbaugh, have been spewing their venom for years without any consequences, which just emboldens them to do more, and make ever-more ludicrous claims. As they cannot be reasoned with, this is probably the only route left to combat such people.
13
I hope the courts make an example and a cautionary tale out of Alex Jones. he's an absolute threat to our democracy and our way of life, cowardly spewing lies to his army of psychopaths behind a microphone, and making a mockery of the 1st amendment in the name of "health" supplements, yet he's grossly overweight. an apology will not work- and I hope there are either civil suits in the tens of millions against him as he's sold his products through the argument that 20 children's deaths were staged. take everything from him, please, and "lock him up".
23
It is truly hard to consider that Alex Jones is able to exist as a credible source of information to anybody on this planet.
If you are a republican, consider deeply that Alex Jones is your compatriot.
Then remember the cautions that your parents gave you when you were young. Remember? They told you not to hang out with the wrong crowd.
Alex Jones is just a Donald Trump wannabe. Probably vice versa. If you are a rational, sentient, empathetic person who has discovered that your political party left you long ago in their Orwellian march to "post truth" and "alternate facts" you must leave it. Otherwise you are what you are.
16
What do the Evangelical "Christians" have to say about Alex Jones? Their president, Trump, openly supports Alex Jones. I guess they accept this as they do all Trump's other atrocities in exchange for advancing their conservative agenda.
4
Author of this article should have Added one more line— where we can donate to the parents’ lawyer fees. Alex Jones is a cancer on our society.
30
Out of curiosity, I looked at the InfoWars website to see how it was covering this law suit. Jones is unrepentant. The lead paragraph reads "Jones breaks down the latest fraudulent lawsuit filed against Infowars by the parents of Sandy Hook victims.
After hundreds of mainstream media publications ran with news of the lawsuit Wednesday, Infowars lawyers say it’s unprecedented the suit was never delivered to Infowars directly and that none of the outlets published the actual lawsuit – a red flag the suit is a PR stunt." This non sequitur is stunning. Since when is publishing the actual law suit a signal of seriousness? In any case, InfoWars published the suit. I haven't actually watched Jones' report (available only on video) but did read the reader comments. Most defend Jones and urge him to continue to fight against the state/elite/globalists. Several readers specifically claim that Jones never said no one died at Sandy Hook, though my quick Google search turned up a Twitter post from Jones to the contrary. Many suggested that Jones and others contributing to this theory are being persecuted, sometimes by the parents of the Sandy Hook victims. My head spins just trying to understand what it would take to see the world this way.
30
That first line of the paragraph is very telling. It is an admission that they believe Sandy Hook happened. Maybe someone will use it against him.
2
Seems to me that this is a first amendment issue. Bogus or not, this person has a right to express an opinion, and if the outlet he maintains does deal in bogus conspiracy theories, it is up to the consumer to discern that. It is amazing that in this very issue of the NYTs there is also a story how detractors of Trump are suing to be allowed to criticize him on his own Twitter account. You can't have it both ways according to what bothers you personally and the NYTs has a responsibility to champion the first amendment consistently.
1
The First Amendment does not protect false/defamatory speech.
1
criticising somebody or pointing out their misdeeds, is absolutely not the same as spreading lies that will impact negatively upon the lives of the innocent in order to make money.
4
Alex Jones's right to express an opinion is not being called into question, so this really isn't a First Amendment issue at all.
The Constitution doesn't give every citizen the right to express an opinion on everything, true or false, no matter how vile, and always remain absolutely free of consequences. This is the issue here. If Alex Jones and his followers are set on making the lives of the Sandy Hook victims' families a constant hell, should he be held accountable?
4
Apparently Trump can no longer block his Twitter feed so perhaps a unified #shameTrump campaign on it might be a way of sending him a message, and each person can do this as an individual act of protest.
9
He's been riding high every since the Jade Helm 15 thing three years ago. Actually got our governor Greg Abbott to give an implied endorsement of his wacko theory.
He got about 100 of his listeners to go down to the Bastrop council meeting and heckle a poor army officer who was trying to give a presentation about the exercise. It was quite a hoot.
https://www.texasobserver.org/jade-helm-15-conspiracy-theories-in-bastrop/
6
Chronic liars like Jones and Trump do it purely for personal gain. They could care less about the pain and suffering their lies cause, and they hide behind 'freedom of speech' as their cowardly dodge. Unfortunately this type of pathology is always present in a sliver of the population. However the constitution and the legal system are not totally helpless in response. Civil damage suits might be a good approach, certainly made OJ pay a price for his criminality.
7
Alex Jones and the Genesis Communication Network exploited the innocent victims and families of the Sandy Hook shooting. For those who like Jones, this is not free speech. People think free speech means saying whatever your want when you want. If I go into a movie theater and yell fire, is that free speech? If I tell a police officer that a man has been shot and we need help even though no such even occurred, is that free speech? Jones knowingly lies and tells lies about people. This is not free speech; that is defamation of character and he should pay. For those who like Jones, go to church and pray for the victims of Sandy Hook instead of listening to him on the radio and allowing him to profit from the death of children. Have the courage to say, we're not tolerating your ignorance and heartlessness.
16
Jones and people like him should be under psychiatric care. Jones like trump is beneath our common decency. This is where Fox Noise spewing leads people. Complete detachment from reality and the truth...This is to entertain and make money and is what America has turned into. What kind of people have some of US become?
9
After all his efforts Alex Jones was finally successful in getting at least one ... ONE person to take his story seriously (Welch). And if Welch believed, as was constantly presented as fact by Jones, that Clinton was trafficking children and the government can’t be trusted, what Welch has an internal logic. The only irrational part is the premise Alex Jones worked very hard to establish.
It’s not just Jones and pizza gate. Anti-vaccination propagandists, when they successfully convince even a small percentage of a local population, help spread disease and sickness just like any other vermin. Or Google the story about a group of men in a midwestern town who were narrowly prevented from blowing up an entire residential building full of refugees (including young children) because they SOMEHOW became convinced that Muslim would inevitably turn into terrorists.
Question: what would/will be the natural result if just 1% of our 300M population believed they could trust the current President of the United States? What if they believed undocumented immigrants were not merely trespassing, but stealing, raping and murdering people en masse? What happens to our planet if Trump convinces enough of the world that climate change is Chinese “hoax”? What if a tiny portion of us actually beloved the government was just waiting to disarm and enslave them and only the minimally regulated proliferation of firearms would keep them free? Why we might witness all kinds of tragedies!
6
Hopefully, the lawsuits against Jones will produce the identical result as the litigation brought by the Southern Poverty Law Center against "soulmate" Richard Butler in 2000 (https://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/09/us/richard-g-butler-86-founder-of-the....
3
Haven't the parents of these children suffered enough? The additional anguish Jones is causing these poor people is loathsome. And for what? Lucre! Free speech has its limits and Jones exceeded them long ago.
7
This man does not believe the trash he pedals. He knows it increases his viewership, which increases his dollars.
3
Which makes him even more horrible.
3
This man, and his followers and adherents, define the absolute lowest form of life.
4
So why does the FCC not put this vile propagandist off the airwaves ? If there are laws that prohibit profanity on the public air waves, then why not consider the gross and profane language of Jones as profanity. Freedom of speech does not include defaming or outright lying like Jones and Limbaugh do.
This disgusting excuse for a human being belongs in an institution for the criminally intent.
5
I hope they take him for every penny he has.
5
Sandy Hook's Fight for Truth
The Truth in a Post Truth Era
These sanitized headlines need to reflect the horror of what these terrorists are doing to these families and to others.
This is a fight against terrorism, make no bones about it - and the terrorists have the president of the United States on THEIR side.
NEW Headline: Sandy Hook Families Sue Trump-Favored Terrorists
Subhead: Friend of Trump Promotes Lying Denial of Sandy Hook
9
When can we expect the report of the Pence Commission on whether millions of illegal immigrants voted in the 2016 election?
4
I wish these parents well and hope that a win makes others think twice. How is what Alex Jones does any different from a boss using sexual harassment and intimidation to get what he wants? Industry is now littered with the bodies of those who dared. Yet AJ is free to spew his conspiracy theories and cause no less harm or pain than if he took the parents of those kids out and raped or shot them himself.
My mind boggles at the thought of what these parents have been through, and to have to be confronted by the results of this "drivel", through social media and in person, is unimaginable. They will never forget or heal, and yet are constantly forced to relive and remember because of someone else's quest for fame and money at any expense. Pain can be physical or psychic, and intentional infliction of it should be considered assault, not free speech...
114
It is still hard to fathom the pain and loss these parents suffered.
That these parents now have to face death threats and relive the worst moment of their lives because of vicious and disgusting lies of Alex Jones - who also denies that Oklahoma City bombing and 9/11 were terrorist acts, but were false flag operations by the government - is absolutely outrageous.
That our President supports Alex Jones - a 9/11 “truther” (actually malicious liar just like Trump) - just think about that: our President actively supports a man who says that our own government was behind 9/11 - a grotesque monster who attacks parents who lost their 6 or 7 year old children to mass shooting gun violence in schools that plagues our country - is absolutely extraordinary and unthinkable.
That 40+% of the country, that 80-90% of Republicans support Trump who supports Alex Jones, who support the constant vicious lies from both Trump and Jones, tells you everything that is so deeply wrong about this country.
Vote in 2018, vote in 2020, vote is every primary, every election - save this country from monsters like Jones and Trump.
230
Oklahoma City was not an act of terrorism, as much as we want to believe it was. McVeigh's motivation was not to instill fear and terror (necessary components of "terrorism"), but revenge on the federal government. Far different than the actual terrorists who use tragedy as a tool to spread fear. We tend to attach the "terrorism" label to many actions lately which are not true acts of terrorism.
1
McVeigh's bombing the Federal Building was absolutely an act of terrorism. You can parse the language all you want. McVeigh murdered innocent children with his "statement" against the U.S. It's the very definition of terrorism, and McVeigh was a White Christian Terrorist.
I truly hope the families suing Mr. Jones win their case against him and that he is made to pay such high financial damages that he will not only be forced to shut down his loathesome, conspiracy-theory hate machine, but that his downfall will serve as a warning to others that libel is not protected by the First Amendment.
12
After the election, progressives were told time and again that we need to come out of our ivory towers and bastions of coastal disconnectedness from the "real Americans" and try to understand Trump supporters better. The problem with that is that we do understand them. If you create a venn diagram with the people who buy the lies, nonsense and conspiracy theories that Jones peddles in one circle and Trump's base in the other, there is vastly more overlap than separation. That is precisely how and why Trump got elected. How can one acknowledge Trump to be the demagogue that he is while pretending that is it wasn't his demagoguery that won over his fanatical base? There is indeed something sick in our body politic and people like Jones and Trump are simultaneously the symptom and the disease. But as any physician knows, sometimes treating symptoms is nearly as effective as treating the disease is, especially when you can't actually treat the disease itself. These law suits may not expunge the poison from the American soul but they are an important antidote.
12
While a civil court remedy might, at this juncture, feel like the way to go, it may not provide relief.
Look, I grew up not 25 miles from this elementary school. It is possible that the parents may need to defer to a higher authority.
You can drive the fool Alex Jones to ground, but there will always be another Alex Jones -- especially in this environment. But AJ, nor his successors, will not escape judgment. May he and they rot.....
May you find peace. And understand, I do not judge your decision in this matter. I ache every day about this. There is simply no way to"get past it."
2
"You can drive the fool Alex Jones to ground, but there will always be another Alex Jones"
That's not a reason not to do it.
5
I agree -- and I live in Alex Jones' town. But I am most concerned about the parents. Going after that fool may simply give credence to his lies, in the eyes of the very very angry losers who believe him. Where can the parents go for shelter? That is my only agenda.
I take my hat off to these families that chose to pick up the fight - on top of all the grief and sadness they must be going through. It speaks volumes about this maniac Jones that he pursuits his business of lying, no matter what the harm and the grief he causes.
Worse though, it speaks volumes about those millions of his followers. I just hope that this court action gets so much attention that Jones will be publicly humiliated, discredited and shown for the freak he is.
My best wishes to the Sandy Hook Families. I just hope that some healing will happen.
7
The judiciary and the common law tradition welcome creativity, a recognition that for every wrong there is a remedy. Jones and his minions should be answerable in money damages for their abuses in this forum where political connections and Fox News-like propaganda machines will prove to be meaningless. Wanton abuse disguised as "news" is just as toxic as big tobacco. It took the court system to bring them down and disclose to Americans how they conspired to lie about their cancer causing products. It's no stretch whatever to allow these victims their day in court to prove how dangerous Jones really is. Perhaps after a few verdicts of billions in damages, the vultures will find another country to roost.
2
As with Trump, the real problem is not so much with Jones himself. Self-serving, delusional, narcissists are out there. The real problem is that so many people in this country take their messages seriously.
This is a clear result of our failed general education system.
5
Defamation (slander or libel where someone attacks the character of another) is not protected speech. This should be an easy win, given what Jones has said about the families.
4
I see the same mistake made about the freedom of speech all the time. Freedom of speech always concerns the prevention of censorship, meaning: no law should PREVENT any citizen to express his opinion. As the first amendment expresses: 'Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.' It does not say or never meant that speech in any form is exempt from the law.
That is what slander, libel and defamation are about. You can freely express that Clinton kills children in a basement of a pizza-parlour... but then you can also be subject to either a criminal or a civil suit.
3
I hope these parents take everything Alex Jones has. What he has done to these families is unconscionable.
5
if your local radio station broadcasts this monster’s show, call, complain, and write every day.
7
The Sandy Hook slaughter really happened and it was not a government conspiracy. I lived in the Newtown area until 1977. Though I moved to Newtown in 1958, I still consider it my home town. I had just recently attended my 50th Newtown High School reunion when that shocking event happened. Ironically Adam Lanza could have been an inmate of the former Fairfield Hills Hospital, a large state mental institution in Newtown. I hope these families are successful and out this crazy man out of business and lock him up in a similar facility.
2
In the 80's as a kid i was bemused at how there were so many adverts in american TV, it was like Americans had to be reminded of something every 8 minutes. What sort of attention span do they have I thought. Educationally this really might not end well i thought.Then 'reality tv' came along, and this really didn't help - filling the heads of millions with mindless junk. Then social media came along (i think we can see where this is going...) With this backdrop of intellectual necrosis, the emergence of the likes of Trump and Alex Jones were an inevitability.
2
The First amendment does not protect someone falsely shouting ‘fire’ in a crowded theater and I cannot think of a case that is a closer parallel to that oft used example than Allen Jones.
2
This is so sad, but I look forward to seeing the fake news world put on trial. As with Trump, I hope that the courts become remain a sanctuary of truth, where it is actually considered a crime to lie.
I have no sympathy with first amendment claims here. The constitution clearly protects the right of people to say things that are true, with some limited exceptions such as national security (e.g. intelligence sources, troop movements, etc.). It also protects the right of people to express opinions -- the government can't take action because you say a movie is bad or that a politician is a fool. The question of what to do with statements that are false is vexing. In the news business, honest mistakes occur and the main thrust of Sullivan v. NYT is that it is OK to be wrong as long as it's clear that you are trying to be right.
Alex Jones meets no such standard. Which would be meaningless if he weren't doing real harm. This article shows he is. A family hires security in the form of a gated community; traumatized parents and surviving children are terrorized on social media. This can't be ignored.
Tragically, this is looks like an egg that can't be unscrambled, which is perhaps why it is important to stop Jones from doing it again. Going after Jones is a start, and necessary, but it is unlikely to persuade his followers and stop the worst of them from terrorizing the Sandy Hook survivors.
I hope these families and attorneys succeed. Truth could use a win.
5
I applaud the families of the Sandy Hook victims for taking this action against Alex Jones and any other 'faux' news outlets that deliberately lie and distort truths for their benefit. The additional pain and threats that have been heaped upon the families of the victims is unconscionable. It's past time for all Americans to stand up for truth and stop peddling falsehoods for their own gain. It should be our "have you no shame moment". It's my sincere hope that this action bankrupts Alex Jones.
4
Looking at the US from the UK I am astounded how this, and numerous other, conspiracy theories take hold in the US. And the fact that many are propagated by the President himself is just astonishing. They all seem to have one thing in common, which is to deliberately sow division. Despite Trump's commitment on inauguration to healing division he knows that he cannot achieve it. He understands that his path to prolonged presidency comes from inciting division and playing to his paranoid, semi-educated, but unfortunately large base.
The US really has gone downhill as a nation. Whoever takes over from Trump has the task of making America credible again before they can embark on making it great again.
6
Alex Jones perpetrates false accusations, not free speech. There should be nothing free or unaccountable about false accusations.
5
You can’t walk into a crowded space and falsely yell “Fire!,” but that is what Jones (and Trump and other swampmates) do with regularity we should find horrifying.
Of course Jones knows he’s causing pain: he’s nefarious as any chunky thumb-on-button dictator with too big a megaphone and too adoring a crowd. He says stuff because it gets him attention (and apparently makes him seem like a nutrition maven). That attention mostly comes by causing damage and inflicting needless pain, by wrecking people’s lives (including children’s), and creating dangerous predatory behavior in some of his less-well-hinged disciples.
Not one whit of his behavior has to do with free speech. No—it has to do with retaining a crowd and entertaining it in the most cynical ways imaginable. Dogfights and cockfights and dueling are also not legal.
For, y’know, reasons.
3
The irony of these ridiculous ‘false flag’ stories is that they prove that the perpetrators are defending indefensible policies.
The epidemic of mass shootings are a clearly a strong argument for better gun control so the only way to counter that argument is to attack the facts that underly the case, and regardless of how absurd that is, it can get Jones through a broadcast and attract an audience who refuse to be convinced of the obvious.
2
During a child custody hearing, Jones' lawyer claimed he was only pretending to be unhinged to entertain his audience. Even with the national coverage of that statement, his millions of viewers have continued to accept Jones' words as the gospel truth.
I recall my horror and outrage upon learning that he said repeatedly that no child had died in Sandy Hook and that the grieving parents were paid actors, hired by the government who wanted to take away the public's guns.
I view Jones' actions as criminal in the way they added to the Sandy Hook parents' already unspeakable grief. "Act" or no, I hope the courts punish him to the full extent of the law for the pain he has caused; freedom of speech does have its limits, and it's high time this despicable person learned what they are.
5
I don't like what he is saying.
And he obviously is not telling the truth.
There's a lot of that going around.
Unfortunately, the first amendment cuts both ways.
Trump lost on his demand to not see political opposition statements on Twitter.
Cuts both ways.
1
I wish someone would order Alex Jones, the NRA and all of the Republicans who rail against any type of gun control to attend the autopsies performed on the victims of gun violence. They should be made to witness the trauma of the medical professionals who have to treat the victims of mass shootings in the emergency rooms. They should be ordered to follow up with survivors and families of those who died and listen to the pain and anguish suffered by them. Would it change anything. I don't know. We shield ourselves from the reality of these horrible murders because we never see the what really has occurred. Bodies covered up and victims with minor injuries are routine. The rest is abstract.
2
As an ardent adherent to free speech I know there are also limits to it. Conspiracy theories are disgusting, but a few days ago I read that America is a "superstitious" country. So Alex Jones fits in well. (I am happy that I don't live in a country with such a denomination).
The crux of the issue is that while people may voice their opinions, they are also responsible for the veracity of those opinions and the impact of their speech. There is a huge difference between declaring a position and undermining truth. Where evidence is needed, it should be produced at the peril of the speaker.
Beware the charlatan who would convert hateful rhetoric into "political" speech, for they are the true enemies of the state.
2
You know, most folks, or at least the folks I know, try to lead lives with integrity, be honest, and yeah, we may have cut corners here and there, but most of all I think we try to have good intentions.
Then we see this.
1
At what point do the lies create a foundation for a criminal indictment? Mr. Jones should serve as a warning to others who have created bodily harm with their outright and knowing lies. At some point, Mr. Jones knew that his lies would lead to violence. He should serve jail time for what he has done.
1
Twisted and evil behavior. My heart aches for the families of Sandy Hook and also for our country where truth is thrown under the bus daily.
The laws regarding slander, at least in this case seem to me as rational and justified.
Lawsuits with appeals obviously are expensive.
I cannot fathom why the defendant would persist
in such a losing situation as this case seems in particular.
When Jones loses this law suit, he, and his enablers, should not only pay through the nose, but also be banned from airways. The lies that Jones has peddled has caused immeasurable pain for so many people....all in the name of selling vitamins? God help us all!
Trump, Hannity, Alex Jones:
The faces of The Republican Party.
How can you GOP'ers live w/yourselves?
5
Alex Jones needs to pay a price, legal and otherwise, for his dangerous demagogy.. Words have consequences at times, and here they are significant. Hiding behind 'freedom of speech' isn't acceptable for words this contemptible. Be a man, Alex, and take responsibility for your behavior.
119
The difficulty, however, is that neither Jones or Trump are men, they're greedy beasts who prey on people they think they can exploit for their financial gain with impunity, they're VAMPIRES. Let's hope that these families drive a stake through Jones and make him disappear!
8
Perhaps the FCC should require all TV, Radio, movies and Cable shows to display a fiction or non-fiction rating. And, in order to enforce a non-fiction rating , a rating system similar to restaurants could be applied. A, B, C etc. The penalty for a show found to be portraying fiction for fact, should be the revocation of its broadcasting license.
Restaurants must post their food ratings…a grade reflecting their health inspection. This rating system serves to “ safeguard the public health and provide to consumers, food that is safe to consume”. Why not a similar rating system to safeguard the mental health of our society!?
67
Time to take out the trash. First Amendment must not be a shield for these people who peddle conspiracies at the expense of grieving families. It is not free speech, it is mental assault
121
I’ve seen it brilliantly put thusly: The second amendment is meant to be used as a shield, not a sword.
Alex Jones makes his living by saying things he knows are not true and defaming anyone who doesn’t support his false narrative. He purposely riles up his already misanthropic listeners. He’s going to be responsible for murder if he continues. Someone should stop his lies.
98
You could say exactly the same thing about the current president of the United States.
3
Our demagogue in chief? Yep.
Sounds like a suitable candidate for president.
1
The sad fact is that Jones is a charlatan and a liar, like his serial, unapologetic, and inveterate liar-god, the Clown.
Sadder still is that there are millions of idiotic, brain- dead, intellectually lazy, weak- willed fools out there who believe the garbage Jones and the Clown purvey. They are a threat to truth. They are a threat to the rest of us.
165
I am not a lazy, weak willed fool and stop calling my President names
That is the truth, my fellow Citizen. I would hope that the Sandy Hook families win and clean out that clown's bank accounts. I really wish there could be some sort of criminal claim that would result in a great punishment and deterrent for such evil creatures like Jones.
But then we are left with those millions of idiotic fools who eat up garbage that liars like Jones (and Trump) spew forth every day. What to do about them? Who said democracy was such a great thing?
4
Hopefully, these law suits will be thrown out for lack of merit.
Not because I like Alex Jones, but because freedom of speech is important.
In the real world, the effect of Alex Jones losing will be more and more strategic law suits being filed. These will be devastating to people with unorthodox beliefs, small advocacy groups; and their volunteers.
So, we need to protect Alex Jones, because by doing so we protect ourselves.
3
I don’t think the kind of awful libel thrown at these families qualifies as free speech. It’s a well orchestrated attempt to defame and discredit them.
168
With all due respect, that it is a specious argument. The First Amendment does not protect libel and slander, and that is precisely what Jones and other right-wing radio talk-show hosts engage in.
It is to be fervently hoped that more lawsuits are filed against such people, as they are in large part responsible for the current "post-truth" phenomenon; they pre-date Trump by a couple of decades.
So, on the contrary to your claim, we make ourselves more vulnerable by allowing Jones and his ilk to broadcast their bile with no consequences.
5
Freedom of speech does not give one the right to yell “fire” in a crowded theatre. Nor does it allow you to defame someone. Opinion is one thing, falsehoods that hurt people are another.
3
Take his money, shut him down and try him for the damage he has done. How come the pizza incident left him clean? An apology costs nothing, is there no law against inciting to violence?
142
Trump's role in this nightmare: just like he complimented neo-Nazis in Charlottesville, he's giving terrorists credibility from the highest office in the land to spread their evil far and wide.
Trump is giving these terrorists HIS vote - the vote of the president of the United States. That should terrify ALL of us.
I remember exactly where I was standing when I heard about the massacre at Sandy Hook. I will never forget. Where was Donald Trump standing - the media should demand that he announce his answer to these terrorists and sever his relationship with them. Our fight for what's decent in our society demands it.
81
Alex Jones is a despicable human being. The additional pain he has caused to these already grieving families is reprehensible. Even more sickening than the man is the fact that he has such a large following. Shame on Alex Jones, and shame on the people who watch the filth he produces. I hope he pays handsomely for his lies and smears.
142
I agree and thank you. Why anyone as disgusting as Alex Jones has any following is beyond me, but then, Donald Trump was elected president. A sorry fact, indeed.
4
These families have endured the unthinkable-and to be harassed by Alex Jones and the "Sandy Hook Truthers" for years after is unspeakably cruel. I hope this lawsuit will finally force Jones to shut up once and for all-at least about Sandy Hook. He has so many other "fake news" items to bewitch his brain-dead listeners with.
79
These families never asked to be "public figures." Yet, Jones attacks them as if they are mere tabloid fodder. I am sure that his defense will stretch reality and try to claim them as public figures. The slander will continue as they walk into the courtroom. In the end, he will suddenly declare himself to be an "performance artist" and really didn't mean any of it.
In any event, I am sure Jones can no longer buy liability insurance for defamation claims. Just the mere defense costs will start to weigh on his bottom line. Given the way courts work, maybe this is the best to be achieved.
I wish the Sandy Hook families all the luck in the world. They deserve that much.
88
I stand 100% behind these families. It's about time Alex Jones is held accountable for spewing disgusting, inhumane lies so that he can line his pockets.
83
Bankrupt this monster! Put him out on the streets!!
75
Hopefully Jones will be bankrupted. Then he can perhaps decide if money is real.
67
I, too hope that Alex Jones is forever a beggar after this lawsuit is over.
However, it pains me more that he has a/n (active, persistent & anonymous) following. In a society that valued facts and decency, he would be a lone voice onto himself.
May you - Sandy Hook parents - be granted grace. You are thought of today and will be, tomorrow.
50
It's hard to see how responsible journalism and civilized debate will allow America to see the likes of Alex Jones in an accurate context. We really need to get hundreds of Alex Jones videos showing his craziest moments circulating on the internet for the next 2 years. A hundred people devoting 1 hour a day could do it. Same with Hannity, Ingraham, Levin etc.
Free speech must not be allowed to become a license to lie.
33
I used to be an ardent fan of Joe Rogan's podcasts until he endorsed (if only passively) this charlatan. Jones is in the same bucket as Fox "news" as a true enemy of the state of good will and truth and reason.
19
The government owns us an explanation for UFOs, Roswell, and why Alex Jones is allowed to use any form of broadcast media.
16
Unfortunately, for whatever reasons, nutcases like Alex Jones always seem to be able to find an audience and the nuttier he gets the larger his audience grows. One of his most recent claims is that "lizard aliens disguised as humans" are taking over the earth. This time, however, with Sandy Hook he has crossed the line. The problem lies within the legalities of determining what is his REAL state of mind and if this lawsuit does go to court, he can always claim his show is entertainment and he is an actor just acting out a play and does not really believe the crazy ideas he regularly blurts out. This approach actually worked when during a court case in which, assuming he had mentally gone off the deep end, his ex-wife filed for full custody of their three children.
Unfortunately, the judge bought into his act and her request for full custody was denied. If it is brought to court and as sick as it may be, look for him and the defense to take the same approach. I would hope the legal team representing the Sandy Hook families would right from the outset spend considerable time investigating the REAL mental state of Alex Jones and if it is as he claims, just an act. Ultimately, it could result in an out of court settlement.
It is really hard to believe, though, that the deranged conspiracies he is constantly throwing out there comes from the mind of someone who is in complete control of what he is doing and saying about others and the world around him.
6
At this point the lizard aliens would turn away in disgust and look for a better planet to take over.
1
Alex Jones and others like him, who lie with impunity, reach a mass audiences. It is well documented that when people hear lies long enough they come to believe them. This is like yelling fire in a crowded theater and has real consequences. Free speech must be upheld, but there are and should be consequences for deliberately lying.
What would happen if a Muslim hate group reaching a similar audience size was telling similar lies?
16
Why isn't it a crime to spread lies? Why isn't it a crime to be entitled to your own facts and attack their authenticity? Why isn't it a crime to reject evidence and continue to spread lies? Why can't the licence to broadcast be revoked when someone just spreads lies to earn millions? It is deeply unfortunate that universal truth is not valued anymore and everyone is entitled to their own truth.
20
Probably the first amendment.
1
The Alt-Right flame machine hosts many people who are like Alex Jones. Their very existence is dependent upon sponsors and subscribers. If Americans are fed up with people like Alex Jones, the simple solution is to legally sue the beejeebers out everything they own or are associated with. Siphon off their wealth from nefarious causes and conspiracy theories; drive them financially underground so deep they will never see the light of day again. Bust them - bust them down financially.
24
What kills me about conspiracy nut jobs is their willingness to ignore basic facts like how many people it would take to pull off a false flag operation. So all of the first responders were also in on it at Sandy Hook? And the doctors? And the coroner? And all the teachers? The same goes for 9/11. It would take a massive conspiracy to pull off 9/11. And in a society where everything is leaked how is it that nobody has leaked details of the “inside job”? Frightening that people can suspend their disbelief so easily. Facts people, stick to the facts.
24
Excellent point.
I think that many people who support and cheer for Alex Jones and his despicable speech are well aware that he is lying. Nevertheless, they applaud him because he echoes their own hate and anger. For shame!
19
Imagine a world in which one needs to sue in court for the truth.
25
I hope they do to Jones what was done to David Irving. Mere bankruptcy is too light a punishment of Jones. As with Irving, I hope the court's judgment destroys his reputation (what little he has) once and for all.
15
The right wing media should be held accountable for the consequences of the lies they tell, but our culture has somehow normalized the telling vicious lies by talk show hosts, and richly rewards them for doing so. Is this not like shouting fire in a crowded theater? Don't citizens have a right to be free of this kind of abuse of our constitutional rights?
7
People aren’t understanding freedom of speech here. It’s pretty simple: this is slander. I can call you a liar to your face even though you are telling the truth and there’s nothing you can do about it. But if I do that in, say, a bar and a third person hears it, you have right to claim that I’ve damaged your reputation. Jones is toast. He called sandy hook families liars thus damaging their reputations. They are not liars. This case is a slam dunk. Bye, bye Mr. Jones. As your fearless leader would say: So sad. I hope these good people leave you penniless.
34
Indeed. And his case is far worse than the hypothetical one you described. Perhaps someone “overhearing” what’s said in a bar can be explained away as a misunderstanding; something taken out of context.
Alex Jones built a spotlight for himself and purposefully went about all of this. On top of that, while the average person can claim to have no knowledge of what people in bars might overhear them say or how seriously complete strangers take what they overhead in random bars, Alex Jones knew for a fact that he was reaching millions of people and that they were taking actions based on what he was telling them. From Jones’s point of view, what could be more natural than what is happening to Sandy Hook families or what happened in Pizza Gate based on what he’s yelling people and his knowledge that at least some people believe it?
Either he’s a malicious madman who actually wants people to get hurt or he’s the kind of grossly negligent fool that no one would have trouble finding responsible for the suffering they so willingly caused.
1
Thank you! Civics needs to be taught in school so people understand that free speech means you can say what you want and not be arrested for saying it. However, it doesn't protect you if people don't like what you have to say and choose to take action. Not only has this man profited from a complete fabrication, these lies have created stalkers who harass these families, defamed these families and basically said that living human beings were made up. I'm shocked that it took this long for the lawsuit to happen. Thank you to anyone who clarifies why this case is important.
3
He's a vile human being and that's the best I can say about him. Why bring so much pain to people who have been through the worst? A special place in hell for him and his ilk.
14
By bringing suit against those who defame the memories of their beloved children, Sandy Hook Parents will help our nation. The propagation of lies by right wing media must be stopped, and the public must demand only the truth, and never tolerate slander, or lies.
11
So much seems to be wrong lately. I'm including Alex Jones in this assessment. The cancer this malevolent creature (and others like him) are spreading is another example of this wrongness permeating society. He's whipped foolish people into believing and acting vilely on perverted lies. Lies that it seems no one is holding him accountable for. What I fail to understand is why are monstrosities like him allowed to continue? Why is no one standing up to him? However, I'm sure if he were attacked he'd quickly sue. Shut down his attackers. Ruin them, if possible. In the meantime, he's made a fortune off of defaming hard working families, people who have lost their children to murder. Where's all the action against him?
8
How pathetic. This troll of a man sells diet pills when he isn't yapping at the crazies? May the darkest of demons haunt his thoughts every night for as long as his supplement-riddled body is able to sustain itself. And may a most expensive judgment, not in his favor, land square in his lap. Maybe he'll have to start asking for forgiveness whenever he finds himself in public.
3
The travesty is less this lunatic than his validation by the current President of the United States, a man who has debased public discourse and devalued the truth in a way that is profoundly threatening to our democracy.
12
“The legal burden on the families will be heavier yet if they are deemed to be public figures.”
How could these private citizens possibly be”deemed” public figures with regard to the murder of their children?
10
Where does infowar get its funding from? Russia? What are the companies that place commercials on his program? There must be serious consequences for this sick man and his supporters. However, this man's "success" says something very alarming about America. Why does he have so many followers? Have mentally sick people reached a critical mass to sustain such an evil force? My heart goes out to the Sandy Hook victims and their families - and thank these courageous parents for fighting back and defending the truth.
9
I found this difficult to read. The pain of the families affected by the massacre is still impossible for me to comprehend. I hope this heartless man and other deniers like him are held accountable. I wish that the Sandy Hook massacre was a lie, but it happened. To deny it is reprehensible. Those dear little children and their teachers and all of their families and friends deserve better.
10
I no absolutely nothing about divine justice but I'll be overjoyed to see a plate full of the legal kind dished out to miserable human being, Mr. Jones. And I am more than glad to pray for some real criminal charges to be served up next to them. That would be more than divine enough for me.
3
it is about time! Spreading false information for personal financial gain at the expenses of others is like selling counterfeit drugs: it is harmful to the societies.
For people who have no morals and shame, draining their finance is one of the few effective means to counter them.
4
As part of his "sentence" he should be made, on his last show, to profusely apologize to all the parents of Sandy Hook and to the American people for attempting to profit on this tragedy and for all his other instigating lies. He should be made to give his listeners a lesson in critical thinking. He needs to explain to them that he callously exploited them for his own benefit and caused additional terror upon the parents and families of Sandy Hook. He must tell his followers that any and all threats against those parents are criminal and must be halted immediately. Then he should be required to contribute most, if not all, his money to Sandy Hook Promise or other such orgs. Every now and then he should do public service announcements denouncing alt-truth posts and instruct followers on critical listening skills. If he does all that, then in 20-25 years, let him out! Speech can cause violence and he is an example. Everything has limits including our amendments when considering the context.
7
Uh. He needs to be off the air.
Men like this monster should be shut down for treating families like this. It's a shameful abuse of the first amendment. I'm very happy that the families are taking this into their own hands, and wish them the best of luck.
5
Jesus advised his followers to be truthful and forthright. The Sermon on the Mount remembers Jesus saying, "Let your 'Yes" be Yes", and your "No" be "No". To report the Sandy Hook tragedy as a hoax confuses the meanings of yes and no. I do not know what faith Alex Jones professes to be his. I do know his actions are an anathema to Jesus' teachings. It reminds me of a quote I came across from George Orwell, "Politics and the English Language", 1946. "Political language...is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind." These are our times. May the force be with the Sandy Hook families and this hateful man-child be smacked by reality.
4
In a race to the bottom with the likes of Rush Limbaugh and other opportunists who combine free speech, entertainment, capitalism and exploitation of humanities desire to form communities, InfoWars is challenging the basic tenants of our free and already great society.
Freedom and truth, serving the same, is not a wavering American value. Throughout our history their have been moments where we oscillate outside of the promises we make to each other, but there have always been corrections to the center. Now is one of those aberrations and the correction will not be rapid, as the damage is profound but the change will be lasting.
There are at least two generations of Americans who will question the specific language of the second amendment and wonder how a “well regulated militia” mutated into military weapons with no tort duties to owners and manufacturers. These generations will further wonder if the real tangible cost to themselves and their peers is a good bargain, if enrichment of arms manufacturers is worth the persistent fatalities of our children and their peers.
I take no satisfaction in making the prediction that every great conservative idea to ensure school safety will fail because of some distorted notion of our antediluvian constitutional intent being justified by the periodic cost of a spurned Caucasian male murdering his peers and perceived enemies. The answer is within the constitution: “a well regulated militia”. Drop mic, carefully, no dents.
4
May this vile degenerate pay for the harm he has caused these people at the most difficult time of their lives. The only way to stop this crackpot and others like him is to make the costs of this behavior exceed the benefits.
3
I can accept that Jones will say anything to make a buck, intentionally trying to convince Trump worshipers that Sandy Hook parents were crisis actors and all the other conspiracy theories he’s spun. But what I have a hard time comprehending is that so many Americans are The Walking Braindead, willing to believe anything that comes out of the mouths of grifters like Jones and Trump. Literally nothing is too fantastic for them to questions Nothing. Sadly, these gullible, unethical people vote, own guns, and breed.
11
I think they know Jones and Trump are liars who say demonstrably false things. But they don't care. What does that say about them?
Exhibit A for why there should be limits on freedom of speech.
4
Apropos to the people involved, let’s limit second amendment rights before we start messing with first. Let this run as a libel case first.
Tricky situation. It should not need to be tricky but it is basically about if it should be allowed to knowingly spread lies and thereby hurting, or risk hurting, other people. Defamation does not come with distinct borders. I am thinking of course of our dear Donald who lies on average more than half a dozen times per day. I am fairly certain that at least some of them are deliberate and many of them hurt or risk hurting people.
At some point people who's voice are heard by millions must be forced to consider consequences of lying.
Can someone please ask Donald if he are still endorsing Alex Jones? Maybe ask Donald of Sandy Hook was "staged by the government"? Ask Donald what he thinks about lying deliberately to the masses....
2
I hope these families take him for every penny he's got... and I hope he doesn't have much insurance, so a lot of his own money is at risk.
9
Good! I don't normally say this, but Alex Jones is a cancer upon society. Too many American minds are poisoned by his baseless conspiracy theories that too many cannot distinguish fact from fiction. I hope he ends up homeless and penniless. And that's no conspiracy theory ;-)
11
Godspeed, Sandy Hook families, and know you have the deepest sympathy for your loss and the suffering you have endured at Alex Jones' hands. Thank you for taking action on behalf of all of us to stop this contagion.
6
Freedom of speech dows not mean freedom from consequences.
8
As a father, I cannot, fortunately, fathom the pain of losing a child. To have the circumstances of loss denied, ridiculed, and used for political gain is evil.
11
Some people are determined to believe whatever they want to believe no matter the evidence. That doesn't mean that broadcast companies get to make money off of this with no accountability. I pray the parents win this lawsuit. It's impossible to believe that Alex Jones did even the most minimum of fact checking before spouting this hateful lie.
2
26 people walked into Sandy Hook high school alive and did not walk out for they were shot to death in cold blood. To those that deny that this event happened, they need to find those 26 people alive, now 6 years older, where they are living now and what are they doing with their lives. They need to explain why the 20 children are not going to the same school and living with their parents. That need to explain where the 6 teachers are now working and living. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. They are not entitled to their own facts.
6
Wow... people like him exist... and are believed... and make millions... in America?
2
Yep. Where else?
1
I blame the people who read the conspiracy nonsense, support it, and act on it. What kind of people harass and frighten families that are mourning their loved ones? How many Americans are devoid of the ability to discern truth from outrageous lies? It's mind boggling. I hope the Sandy Hook families win their lawsuits, as truth will out. I wish them peace.
6
Even though they face an uphill battle with their cases, I hope that win and take every penny away from this disgusting, hate-filled person (and teach the rest of the hate-filled Rightwing Media Cabal a lesson).
3
the extremely high burden our courts place on defamation plaintiffs suing media has historically allowed a generally liberal media to get away with some questionable attacks on conservative figures.
this is a case and Jones is a figure that unfortunately may demonstrate the downside of the courts’ approach in this area. I hope I’m wrong and that jones is destroyed by this litigation and maybe the courts will create some good law along the way.
3
These conspiracy freaks have to be hit in their dearest of places...their wallets. Why should the grieving families have to suffer this unnecessary trash?
6
I believe there's a word we could use for someone who lies about the death of 1st Graders just to drive traffic on his website to increase profits; evil. The man is truly evil. And anyone who enables him to stay in business by visiting his site or buying the products advertised there is abetting evil.
12
Only an idiot would take anything Jones says seriously. I just never thought one would get elected president. It seems idiots are far more commonplace these days.
9
Jones and Fox "news" has a very wide following.
How can a healthy democracy exist when so many lack even the most basic critical thinking skills and empathy, regardless of ideology?
4
I thought the FCC held broadcasters to a moral clause.
How is he allowed to broadcast?
What the hell is happening to our country?
9
I don't call myself a religious person. I respect the idea of tolerance, however, and that includes being tolerant of different opinions than my own.
Alex Jones is a different matter though, and, indeed, I see little difference between this hate monger and the abysmal human being currently usurping the United States Government in the guise of "President".
We are a nation of laws. I applaud these brave parents who are standing up for truth and standing against the NRA and their sycophants like Trump and Jones.
We are all crime victims and all traumatized by this heinous administration. I thank the stars that some of us are finally getting up the will, the anger, and the nerve to put down these monsters - and Jones and Trump are nothing if not monsters.
13
Liars need to be held accountable, no matter who they are or what office they hold.
9
The most direct retort to someone who starts spouting Jones' conspiracy line about the Sandy Hook massacre being staged with actors is: so where are the real children now? They should be around, shouldn't they? In school? Playing in the park? Out with their parents? If they weren't killed, where are they?
Watch the expression on that person's face.
3
Godspeed Mr. Heslin. You and the other people impacted so horribly at Sandy Hook should not have to reckon with someone who tells such egregious lies, but you’re doing the right thing by pushing back. It may be hard to keep the faith in your fellow humans at this time, but know that there are people out there who care and who are behind you all the way.
10
For those of you who can remember a time when Alex Jones Info Wars was a program a shortwave radio (a method of world communication that doesn't need wires) you already know that almost everything the man said was nearing fantastical lunacy.
I'd like to think that the old adage of "you shouldn't believe everything you hear" told to me by my parents was shared by most others who happened to tune in.
Either I was woefully wrong in my hope for my fellow humans intelligence or it seems people, at least some of them, seem to believe anyone who wears a nice suit and has a good professional looking studio in the background.
Speaks to something far more tragic in America than is ever discussed.
8
I have always felt that the photos of the deceased children need to be available to the public. We get to see pictures of dead refugees and dead Syrians, but why not our own dead who are dying en masse due to assault rifles that are military grade mass killing machines. The grotesque aftermath of a mass shooting needs to be covered in all its obscenity as a mirror to the grotesque culture of guns in America.
10
I agree with the victims. Every time Jones opens his mouth and spits falsehoods that he knows to be false, hit him with a lawsuit. The First Amendment was not created in order to facilitate a coordinated assault on the truth.
8
This makes me ashamed. There is no other reaction. Have we really spawned someone like this? Doesn't Mr. Jones care about the truth even once and a while? Ever? He's got 15 million followers. Hello. People out there. Stop yourselves. Move away from this heinous person. We are better than this.
And good luck Sandy Hook parents, children and responders. You have my deepest sympathy and respect.
4
I hope they take every cent he has. And if there is a way to send him to prison, I'd like to see that as well.
6
Don't settle for a public apology. Don't settle for a disclaimer before his show or on his website. Shut this morally corrupt, shameless profiteer down permanently either through injunction or monetary penalty. Both would be preferable.
11
Jones is the most despicable of hucksters, not unlike the horror that resides in the White House. The most frightening thing, however, is the mass delusion that has overtaken almost half of this country. Is there any way back from that?
8
Anyone who says Sandy Hook did not happen is insane. But they have a 1st amendment right to say it, just like Adam Lanza had a 2nd amendment right to tow a killing machine. No?
3
These parents did nothing to deserve Alex Jones' slander. Hopefully, they'll win a huge judgment.
2
No doubt Trump admires Jones' business model which is to profit from the misery of others.
8
If the senseless slaughter of innocent children at Sandy Hook wasn’t enough to shake any breathing, rational human being ( let alone one with a heart and soul) from clinging to their NRA adoring , gun-clutching stupor then I guess nothing will. This loathsome individual is just cruelly pouring salt in the wounds of the grieving parents. He deserves to be shut down. Period.
6
If there is any justice in the world, the parents of the Sandy Hook victims will take Jones for every dime he has.
PS. I wonder what Edgar Welch thinks now?
4
The anti Trump forces in this country - AKA the patriots who love America - should tar him with his association with Jones… his admiration for Jones.
Who do you think Americans will side with?
A man who smears the grieving parents of slaughtered six year olds or those same parents?
And, what will those same Americans think of a rat president who associates with such a low life?
As this trial goes forward, as Jones and his inhumanity are exposed, to the disgust of most Americans, let the word go out that Donald Trump is in the same sewer as Jones.
Guilt by association.
The most guilty person to ever sully this good nation.
7
Far-right (Republican) extremists will not feel content until they have attained pure evil mixed with more-American-than-thou (and me) pretension and arrogance.
15
There are a lot of Republicans that wouldn't think of insulting anyone, let alone insult/harass a parent who has lost their child so tragically. Equating him with even right wing Republicans is unfair to the vast majority of R's.
IMO if you compared Jones to a catfish in a sewage lagoon you'd be insulting the fish.
1
Unfortunately, good and decent Christians are being defamed daily by the White House thug who pretends to be Christian. No to mention Alex Jones and his ilk.
1
I agree with Joshua Krause below that this phenomenon is terrifying. Think about this. Go into a room with a bunch of people. At least every third person voted for Trump and likely 4 out 10 people follow some incredibly evil and monstrous person like Alex Jones. What has happened to America? There is a post below that Jones was just another ranting crank in Austin, Texas and now he has millions of followers. How can it be any wonder that Donald Trump is president of the United States?
44
This man is an immoral monster. I can only hope that hiding behind free speech rights won’t work for him. Spewing hate and bigotry is something that was a speciality of people like Hitler. We cannot allow this to happen in our country.
119
Nothing will be enough until this sick man is separated from every penny of his ill-deserved wealth. Money is the only thing he understands, and taking it from him is the only way to make this right.
162
I agree! We need to put Alex Jones in bankruptcy and out of business. He is disgusting!
4
Also from his guns. He's far too unstable to own deadly weapons.
6
Many readers mention the First Amendment in this discussion. However, there is absolutely no First Amendment issue here. The First Amendment only protects us from governmental interference with our rights of freedom of speech, religion, and assembly. In this case there is no issue of governmental suppression of Alex Jones’s freedom of speech. These three lawsuits are civil tort actions created over centuries by the courts under the common law of England and the United States.
104
Defamation is an area of law that provides a civil remedy when someone's words end up causing harm to your reputation or your livelihood. Libel is a written or published defamatory statement, while slander is defamation that is spoken by the defendant.
(Above definition is from the internet)
I'm glad these Sandy Hook families have enough wealth to hire the best lawyers. It's a very complicated fuzzy legal fight.... It's a battle that surely will go to the Supreme Court. Or at least until Jones' purse strings drain.
How much more sorrows can these Sandy Hook families endure?
God bless their souls.
109
When I was living in Austin in the 90’s, Jones was a late-night ranter on public access TV, an object of stoner amusement, yet another ornament on the tree of “weird” before the city turned that into a banal slogan. He was just another crank in a city of cranks. It never would have entered our minds back then to think that he would develop the massive following he has today. It’s terrifying. A true symbol of how our country is teetering on the edge in some very scary ways.
134
Good.
Demand respect.
Lies are not free speech.
Civilised society must prevail.
65
Alex Jones and Trump have much in common: a lack of regard for truth and facts. One wonders how these scammers are able to succeed and not be called out for what they are: liars. Sadly, they represent a movement which questions the most basic laws of science and facts in which we all encounter in daily life ... perhaps this is an outcome of general decline of our culture and society.... my hope that in the cases of jones and trump, truth and justice will prevail and both will get what they deserve.
50
Clearly, the years of constant cuts to public education in Republican states, to them anyway, is having the desired effect.
3
It's clear why Mr. Jones creates these fantastical stories: money, and the approval of demagogues who need to discredit truth to stay in power.
But somebody please explain, right here if possible, what motivates his listeners to harass citizens?
53
You ask "what motivates his listeners?"
- Stupidity and lack of education.
- Fear and insecurity.
- Bigotry and hatred of other people that are different than they are.
- The world-views that they've been taught, such as American Exceptionalism and the moral superiority of Christianity.
In other words, they are the Deplorables that Hillary Clinton was talking about. Yes, they do exist; and frankly, there are a lot more of them than we acknowledge.
7
In a word: paranoia.
It is a tribal reaction. No different than religious extremists, which include Christian Fundamentalists and Dominionists in this country, who boil everything down to "You're either with us or against us." Science be damned, facts be damned. Jones and other demagogues like him have convinced these people that Sandy Hook deaths are a contrived lie, and they ingest and integrate that untruth as part of their tribal affiliation and identity. Everyone else is The Enemy, including those bereaved parents. It has reached the level of violent psychological pathology. Jones is up to his neck in this, but each one of those "believers" has personal responsibility for the choice they have made. It's just that the call of the tribe is stronger and more seductive.
2
I remember how sick to my stomach I was when I heard the Sandy Hook news. It was an uncontrollable visceral reaction. Tears came to my eyes. When I wasn’t thinking of the students, I thought of the parents and what they were going through.
Is Alex Jones even human?
107
Take him for all he’s worth! The truth still matters, I hope.
27
Freedom of Speech comes with great responsibility. We’re not allowed to yell “fire” in a crowd when there is none, and we’re libel for slander. But, it’s a fine line as well. Stop the ability for hate speech and lies and you could inadvertently hurt the freedom to speak the truth.
Slander will require proof of damages, creation of a danger, etc. it is a hard road.
We need to push harder for quality education so we have fewer people who lack the ability to convince large numbers of people in conspiracy theories. Public school children need to be pushed to be analytical, seek the facts, and support truthful research even before college. And then more need to be funded to go to college.
Maybe this seems off topic, but the more people can think for themselves (regardless of their political views), the better off we will all be.
There are many conspiracy theories out there. We just need to minimize their impact.
23
If everyone did this, sued the right wing propaganda media, every single time they slandered and misrepresented someone, maybe we wouldn't have so much right wing propaganda calling itself news. It has hurt this nation to the point of destruction at this point. It needs to be illegal in a democracy for a news show or one acting as if they are one to spew propaganda period. Make it so democrats when you get power again. Be bold or this country is going to fall apart for good.
29
Do and say things worthy of prison if you want to be somebody.
12
Like the young Jack Sawyer in Vermont who wanted to be somebody: the biggest active shooter the world has ever seen! His plans were foiled when he shot off his mouth in emails to a young woman friend, who "saw something, did something" and turned him in. He was charged with "attempted" murder on the strength of his candid confession to the police, hard evidence (guns, his journal, his kill list), and his confident statement that he would bide his time until the time was right. He was held on bail but when the "attempt" charge was thrown out by the judge, bail was removed and he was released … to his father, with instructions to get a psychiatric evaluation and be a good boy from now on.
And we wonder why these crazy criminals feel they have free rein??? It starts young, evidently.
3
"No one in this world, so far as I know — and I have searched the records for years, and employed agents to help me — has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people. H.L. Mencken
61
Lack of intelligence absence of morality and decency en mass is the prelude to atrocities.
It is amazing how gullible people are and believe others without question. The event happened, children died, death certificates were issued, burials took place, the killer's family exists, the killer committed suicide, and yet people can somehow dismiss all these events and details and parrot others in saying it was all fake? Based on what proof?!
Alex Jones must pay for spreading falsehood. Whether he lied or was misled, if he is spreading his statements as the truth, he has to research and back them up. Since he hasn't proved that it was a hoax, he must pay for the harm he has caused. People have threatened the families because of his lies.
147
Aside from the basic indecency and cruelty of people like Alex Jones, what astounds me is just how dumb believers in these kinds of "hoaxes" can possibly be. Much like the people who say the moon landing didn't happen, or that 9/11 was also a "false flag" event, the number of people - thousands upon thousands, ultimately - who would have to be "in on" these great deceptions and plots involving the highest levels of government as well as many ordinary people - simply boggles the mind. All those astronauts - their families? The whole NASA administration? Then and now? All the 9/11 families? All the people who worked in the World Trade Center - all the families of the people on the four hijacked planes? All liars? Every single one of them? Many people working at, say, Logan Airport that morning would have to know there was no hijacked plane. And yet not one of these people ever talks? The Newtown children - all imaginary? These "crisis actors" and their handlers invented an entire first grade class at a random school and several teachers as well as a school principal - and no one else who lives in Newtown ever mentioned that they never heard of any of these kids or their families? It's really amazing - the conspiracy theorists never seem to even notice that it's their own theories that are so preposterous they don't make sense if you think about them for 30 seconds.
192
The daily leaks coming from the White House should show the implausibility of these conspiracy theories. Oh, I forgot. That requires critical thinking. My bad.
9
They WANT to believe that the government is lying, that easy access to military weapons don't make make crimes like Sandy Hook possible, that humans could not go to the moon. All of us tailor our beliefs to fit into our world view.
Some people have a world view (flat earthers, some religious) that is fundamentally at odds with science and scientifically gathered fact. Some people wouldn't be able to change their view that guns are fundamentally good and harmless, even if data from NIH showed that access to military weapons lead to more mass killings. Of course there can be other motives (think gun manufacturer lobbyists). This is why republicans blocked NIH from from studying gun violence and some in Congress have even tried to prevent physicians from telling patients about the dangers of guns in the home. And this is why we are offered "alternative facts" - that violent movies and mental illness are the cause of gun violence, even though there are lots of mentally ill people and violent movies in places like Japan and Australia where there is almost no gun violence - and many fewer guns.
I admire the citizens who are banding together to sue Alex Jones. His type of hate mongering poisons the world. To think these parents, these children are being defiled by him. Freedom of Speech does not mean freedom to propagate lies and cause chaos/suffering for families. What a piece of work!
155
In some parts of the country, our freedoms are now very contorted. Freedom of speech can mean freedom to lie. Freedom of religion can be freedom to moralize bigotry. Freedom to bear arms can be freedom to do nothing to reign in murderous tools. Freedom from slavery can mean corporations are people.
366
our new normal
7
I hope they sue him into bankruptcy.
152
1. That's what we did to Germany after WW1. Look at the result.
2. He has friends. They'll rescue him. He'll be back.
3. He needs to be put in prison, for life, preferably solitary.
2
I hope a judgement is brought against him for every nickel he has, for all the needless suffering he had caused these devastated families. I can’t even come up with a word vile enough to describe his conduct.
183
Jones is a walking, talking hate crime. Just my humble opinion, of course.
102
So glad the families are doing this. Alex Jones, shame on you forever.
89
I honestly don't know how he can sleep at night.
2
I support Freedom of Speech. I don't support use of the public airwaves to disseminate propaganda. Maybe I'm crazy but I think the FCC should have shut down these kinds of hate mongers and propapagandists long ago. I don't think Fox news deserves a license to broadcast and whoever airs this character shouldn't have the right to the public airwaves either.
89
He and others like him are the first to incite a mob or yell fire in a theater.
1
Trump’s So-called “spygate” is a false conspiracy theory concocted by the president, who is a purveyor of malicious falsehoods, you know, like claiming Obama tapped his phones and wasn’t born in the U.S. Sadly, millions of gullible people believe Alex Jones and Donald Trump. They are two peas in a pod.
71
Only in the United States could such vile and hateful nonsense be aired on various media outlets. This Jones person wouldn't last five minutes on radio or television in Britain; he'd be massively sued for libel, if he'd managed to even get a program on the air, no less. It's tiresome, but the First amendment allows fools like Jones and his brainless acolytes to spew complete lies, all in the name of free speech. Like it's broken cohort, the Second amendment, the First has been hijacked and abused. Shame and disgrace.
79
Have you heard of the film ‘Denial’ about holocaust denier David Irving? The Sandy Hook parents will have to travel a similar road in their suit. Even in Britain the bar is very high- to have to prove the holocaust occurred?!?!
I, like millions upon millions of people in this country as well as world wide try to somehow rationalize, understand, explain the behavior of the Alex Jones's of the world. It is beyond comprehension that anyone would think, let alone spread lies about the massacre of innocent children by a mentally ill individual. For me, there is only one explanation. There are simply morally depraved, despicable human beings amongst us. The most concerning thing for me is that there are millions of people amongst us that actually follow and believe this depravity. One Alex Jones can wither and die, but millions of Alex Jones's changes the fabric of our shared consciousness, our moral compass and our society and culture as we know it. The First Amendment not withstanding, I unfortunately feel that people like Alex Jones and his lemmings are unstoppable. But for those of us, who thankfully outnumber these unthinking lemmings, I want the parents and families and loved ones who have suffered unimaginable loss at the hands of these despicable humans, that I weep for you and hope at some point your pain is at least tolerable, although I don't know if even that is possible.
62
I agree with your first part, that there are indeed despicable, unredeemable individuals wandering around at liberty until they do something stupid.
I don't know how the parents will ever find their pain "tolerable." And maybe it should not be. Just as with the high school students who are under assault by crazies, just as with the thousands who marched in the South and on Washington D.C. for an end to lynchings, domestic terrorism, and second-class treatment - the pain can be transmuted into something transcendent that finally - finally - brings about lasting change.
50
Dear Julia,
You are misguided in your thinking. The pain of losing a child is the most profound there is yet time can make it tolerable (it's been 15 years for this mother.) But when you complicate the grief with despicable lies and threats no one could find peace.
I lost my almost-25 year old son to a pulmonary embolism after a traffic accident 25 years ago. The pain never goes away; it just changes into a dull ache in the back of my heart.
Losing a younger child to a deranged gunman would be even worse, in my opinion. But I think that the parents of Sandy Hook have learned to use their pain to make the world a better place.
People like Mr. Jones, on the other hand, have no place in our society. They are fear and pain mongers, out only to enrich themselves.
The families are doing the right thing! Alex Jones' and his followers don't have the right to harass the victims of the Sandy Hook tragedy. You have to fight back with someone like that or he'll continue to violate your rights. I hope this is the start of a trend that will stop outlets like Fox News from perpetuating lies that cause people to suffer.
44
When Mr. Jones loses this case I hope he will be required to state loudly and repeatedly that he knowingly and maliciously LIED to hurt others and enrich himself.
49
But he must not be allowed to exploit his "confession" in order to get a lenient sentence. It must not be a plea deal, one of the phoniest possible arrangements in our so-called "justice" system.
Where will be the justice for the victim??
1
Alex Jones gives theorists a bad name. I would choose any one of a number of other labels for him.
12
A scourge upon our society. I'd like to see a list of his advertisers, so the public can cease doing business with any to them.
72
This isn't a free speech issue, despite what some here are arguing. The suit is based in defamation, there having been statements to the effect that the families of the victims are actors and are faking their (clearly profound) loss. Free speech has always been curtailed where it causes real harm (by defaming a person's good character, by shouting "fire" in a crowded theatre, etc). The legal burden on the families will be a heavy one, and for good reason, but if they succeed it will not be a limitation of free speech, but an enforcement of protections against harm.
41
Thanks for this concise and accurate summary. Clearly, you're not merely voicing your opinion but stating verifiable facts. Bravo!
1
Such malicious cruelty is difficult to fathom. The First Amendment does not protect liars.
29
Well, yes it does. Still, Mr. Jones is beneath contempt.
While Mr. Jones' speech may be protected by the First Amendment, he is certainly no "conspiracy theorist." Mr. Jones is someone who will say anything for money and ratings. He is willing to do this whether his audience understands the nature of his "performance," or not. This may be legal, but it is definitely uncouth -- and it speaks directly to Mr. Jones' character that he continues despite the damage he and his ilk do to our society. If it were still a thing, Mr. Jones should be ashamed.
13
When facts become suspect, authoritarian roots are at play. This guy would never mention the statistical fact that gun owners eat their own guns, 625 of all gun deaths are owners hooting themselves. Fact.
7
Alex Jones, and his ilk, the large number of nuts on AM radio (including Limbaugh, Nugent) thrive because the American center has lost its spine, and its mind. We will not judge, not call a fraud a fraud, not say something when something very obviously wrong is occurring.
A centrist has no qualms about saying and believing something like: "well on the one hand Alex Jones is wrong about Sandy Hook, but he has a point that the traffic in big cities is rather clogged. So, he does have a point."
So deeply embedded are we in moral and intellectual equivocation, and every other kind of relativism. We think this is a sign of intelligence, of our largess, to have vermin of the Alex Jones kind around, and hold our nostrils just a little bit higher - and tell ourselves we are above it all.
The right way to deal with these jokers to is to make them pay very heavy fines, and bankrupt them. I.e., they should be tried and impoverished. Not just Alex Jones, but one by one, the complete yahoos on the right have have taken over the airwaves and the blogo-sphere with lies, defamation, and what not. And if someone is carrying a gun in a retail shop, please have them arrested and tried for attempted armed robbery with mandatory jail sentences.
In a capitalist America, the only way for decency to survive, is to bankrupt the immoral and the illegal.
30
"And if someone is carrying a gun in a retail shop, please have them arrested and tried for attempted armed robbery with mandatory jail sentences."
We tried that here in Vermont with a kid who was planning the biggest school massacre ever in his own former high school. All the evidence, plus his own matter-of-fact admission to the police of his plans, brought a charge of "attempted" murder, which was thrown out by the court (along with bail) because he was intercepted before he would actually carry it out, ergo, it wasn't an actual attempt. He even bought a gun perfectly legally, saying it was for target practice.
Look, either we're going to get serious about this garbage or we're not.
2
I think the most shocking part of this story is that Alex Jones is 44 and making a fortune on diet supplements. 44?! Who's buying $7-$12 million in diet supplements from a man that easily looks 10 years older than he is... And not like a healthy 55 year old at that?!
36
Reckless disregard for the truth is easily demonstrated. Jones's "belief" that the event was staged and deaths faked is based on nothing. Any doubt could have been relieved by a request for the public records: the death certificates of the supposed faked deaths.
Does Jones allege that the town of Sandy Hook is also in on the game? If so, why is he citing the coroner's statement?
15
It isn't a belief, it is a hoax, by Jones.
2
Given recent examples, death certificates - like birth certificates - can easily be faked, photographed, and flashed around the world. Snapshots taken by our soldiers of piles of bodies in Auschwitz are said to be faked also. The photo documentation of the moon landing is "faked," for Pete's sake!
But we're not dealing with scientific evidence here. We are dealing with utterly vile attempts to distort historical fact to serve an individual's warped imagination. … and get paid handsomely for it.
I hope they take him to the cleaners. I also hope part of the settlement is that he be required to post at the top of his website an apology to all the people he misled as well as the Families of the victims.
Our judicial system Needs to make an example out of Jones. Leave him broke and in prison for his disgusting crimes. The websites that allow him to use their services As a platform to distribute misinformation and hate, they need to pay a price as well. They're making money off him. They are complicit at best.
456
We go after Big Pharma for pushing opioids that kill innocent people. We went after Big Tobacco for cynically publishing attractive ads for a product that they knew was both addictive and cancer-causing. Gambling is not legal in many places because it victimizes people who have an addiction to it. We can go after the craven outfits that spew lies and cloak them as the truth for no reason other than to see how many people they can con.
26
I think Alex Jones should be banned from broadcasting. After he pays the necessary compensation, and apologies on national television in a fulsome & credible way, Alex Jones should be limited to publishing newsletters for his self-gratification. This individual has been actively engaged in explicit efforts to subvert the Constitution. He is feeding outrageous lies -- and calumnies about bereaved victims of tragedies -- to mentally unstable folks. This kind of dangerous upside-down "journalism" contributes to sending disturbed souls, such as Paddock or the latest mass shooter, over the brink into extreme, violent sociopathy. Alex Jones is a public health menace who needs to be contained, exactly as a dangerous contagious agent would be.
24
"I also hope part of the settlement is that he be required to post at the top of his website an apology to all the people he misled"
And it has to be free of weasel words, like "mischaracterized." I am a retired editor, and I hereby volunteer to edit Jones' apology.
15
Trump and his Trumpkins attract this vermin.
40
“...it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship...people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country.” - Hermann Goering
117
From the horse's mouth - that and "the bigger the lie the more people will believe it."
Americans believe this garbage because they love to feel important. You're important in the eyes of your peers when you "know" something they don't - the juicy gossip, the scoop. Our very news industry is built on it. Larry King was so popular because he let people in on "The Rest of the Story" - what no one else would tell you … because it wasn't true.
That was when honesty was prized as a national virtue. Nowadays, look around you. Even someone you think you know, will lie (let's call it "fib") if it gets them out of a tough spot.
Lying for any reason other to save your own or someone else's life in the face of clear and present danger is a mental condition that is becoming a national pastime.
1
If the burden on the families is having "to show that the statements were false statements of fact, not opinion, and that Alex Jones was at least negligent, and did not take the steps an ordinary reporter would take to corroborate facts", that doesn't sound difficult. And I fail to see how suffering the tragic loss of children would make them into "public figures".
In the meantime, the families have clearly suffered as a direct result of Jones' incitement.
The First Amendment was not put into the Bill of Rights to protect incitement to violence.
The appropriate punitive damages should insure that every cent he has ever made, or ever will make, goes to the benefit of the plaintiffs, although some ingenuity will probably be necessary to prevent some anonymous right-wing donor from stepping in and paying the settlement off from pocket change.
61
I think that anyone-even a right-winger, who had the kind of money to pay off the hundreds of millions that I hope Jones is ordered to pay when he loses, would recognize there are much better investments to be made. Jones is done.
11
Veritas. May it prevail for these
families.
48
I may not agree with Alex Jones' theories - but I fully support his right to say whatever he wants - no matter how ludicrous.
The thought that someone can get sued for expressing an opinion is frightening to me.
Those of you cheering on this lawsuit need to seriously do some self-examination about whether you're letting hurt feelings cloud your judgment and understanding of the first amendment.
25
I love your idealism, @Lukie, but we’ll see how it plays out in court. You totally miss the point that, while it’s difficult to make the case for defamation, you have not made one against it here.
I am not so dumb as to tell these families to end their suit in the interests of your libertarian beliefs. We have a system of justice. Let that make the decision, not you. Defamation cases are difficult to win, but you do not understand that you have not made a successful case against the plaintiffs here.
Somehow I don’t think that the families are feeling guilty due to your righteous admonishment.
50
He ain’t expressing an opinion; he has been stating, as fact, to his millions of listeners that the victims of this mass shooting are crisis actors. His followers take it upon themselves to torture the survivors, or shoot up a pizza restaurant, etc., and he knows it. Gives him a thrill. The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States doesn’t cover it.
87
The first amendment applies only to state action, the governmental suppression of speech. It does not grant any right to broadcast defamatory falsehoods, nor provide immunity from a private lawsuit.
80
Lying to the public over public air ways should be against the law. The courts are the last resort. That this is necessary is revolting.
55
Same as shouting "Fire!" in a crowded public building. It should be illegal and he should have to pay millions to the families as he has profited off their tragedy.
15
Alex Jones, the poster-boy for American "exceptionalism," which is a crock in a country that supports despicable human beings, Jones and Trump.
56
Who says Alex Jones is the poster boy for American exceptionalism?
I've long wondered about the psychological makeup of people like Jones. What is it like to go through life filled with hatred, suspicion, and fear? It must feel awful to be him. But it must be pretty awful to lose a child in a massacre. Jone is responsible for what he says. The First Amendment is one of this country's greatest blessings, but it is not a blanket for men so twisted by rage that they are willing to do and say anything, hurt anybody, for their own gain.
96
I don't think it's even rage. I think he's just morally empty, numb, looking for vicarious kicks.
1
Alex Jones cares about one thing and one thing only: money.
A more shallow and opportunistic soul was never born.
I hope some day he finds a better path; in the meantime I hope that our civil society will take him to task for his monstrous behavior.
In another era a huckster like Jones might have been tarred and feathered and ridden out of town on a narrow wooden rail.
Which might have been too gentle. He's the type that has a stubborn mind and needs a strong lesson.
60
I hope the judge assigned to this case has the courage to do the right thing. This kind of crazy talk must be held responsible.
41
Maliciously spreading concocted and unsubstantiated information to make money has become the leading coin of the realm. Its unrestrained use for bringing in dollars and political end has been elevated to an art form. Past generations were not more pious either, but their tools and reach were limited. I blame both the electronic and print media for tolerating the lies of one particular candidate in 2016. Giving him the megaphone to amplify his lies without questions with one eye on the rating and readership numbers enabled the normalization of that behavior. Belatedly a few in the media have woken up to their professional responsibilities, and have begun to do fact check. Unfortunately, the genie is out of the bottle. And those who got elected by spreading the well documented but rarely questioned lies have seen rewards of lying; as has the media that gets highest ratings for deliberately spreading lies. The lawsuit against Mr. Jones is the right way to strip him of his ill gotten money by doing devil’s work. But even more sinister is that after spreading a falsehood questioning the integrity of institutions such as FBI who want to uncover the truth. The cleanup and the punishment must start at the White House, and the US Congress members who perpetuating the lies by suppressing the truth must be made to pay for it. Mr. Jones is the poisonous fruit of the noxious weed unwittingly planted in in what should be the most revered house in the US.
42
At the risk of exposing this monster to even more people to sway, this is finally a response to someone where trhe consequences will actually hurt him. I hope they bankrupt him, get his media empire and burn it to the ground. Evil dies in the light... let this exposure be the end of him and others like him who use their money and energy to cause so much egregious suffering to those who suffering is more than most could bare.. the murder of their child. Maybe this will open doors to action against the NRA. Please keep this on the front page. It is the only decent story that allows us to cheer for his and his kinds downfall. May justice be served.
50
Unlike, say The Onion and its well-recognized satire, what truly disturbs me about Alex Jones and his InfoWars conspiracies is that there are many people out there who believe his frequent paranoid rantings. For example, I was totally stunned when one of my acquaintances in Canada, a small-town, blue-collar businessman with essentially a high-school education, started quoting as gospel Jones’s version of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre.
Although I am normally a strong supporter of the First Amendment, in a day and age of mass, rapid communication where total nonsense can be quickly spread around the globe, unfortunately, there is a real need to place reasoned, legal governance on freedom of speech in certain cases. Accordingly, I strongly support these lawsuits against Alex Jones to compensate the victims’ families of Sandy Hook to the extent possible and to deter more generally in the future all sources of this type of vicious, false journalism.
387
I had a similar experience with a cousin of mine - an educated, bright (although unemployed) young man. Although he really didn't like Trump, he told me he absolutely couldn't vote for Hilary because she was human trafficking little children. At first I thought he was joking with me. But then he started referring to Jones and others. At that moment it became clear to me how serious of a problem this world-wide (mis)info-war really is.
10
Oddly missing from this article are Mr. Jones' claims in his child custody battle that he didn't really believe the things he wrote, that it was merely entertainment.
One hopes this makes the normally difficult case of proving defamation easier.
72
Jones should be punished. Since there can be no jail time then by forfeiting every penny he has made. Too bad he can't be forced to be honest.
26
Jones is using false information and profiting commercially from that information on the backs of a highly ignorant segment of the public...abusing/breaching societal trust perhaps?
Can't we rely on anti-trust legislation to sort this out?
7
Where can I contribute to the parents' legal fund?
55
Freedom of Artistic Expression - Supreme Court First Amendment Rights.
Alex Jones is not an artist, but is a con man, no 1st Amendment rights should protect he who yells fire in a crowded theatre.
11
"Falsely shouting fire in a crowded theater" is not protected by the 1st Amendment.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., U.S. Supreme Court. U.S. Vs Schneck. 1919.
Speech that is dangerous AND false is not protected.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shouting_fire_in_a_crowded_theater
13
Creative, maybe - artistic, no. Too bad, you lose.
It is beyond horrible that the these families lost their beloved little ones in such a violent terrible manner. but this is just so unbelievable that they now have to deal with death threats because people refuse to believe what they suffered was real. death threats, increased security, curses, harassment all on top of the grief of losing a beloved child. what has this world come to. Alex jones should lose every shred of credibility over this. he should be made to pay fines for telling such despicable lies and endangering these grieving families. unbelievable
41
And this is Trump's buddy! Trump has appeared on his show numerous times and promised to stay in touch while he's in office. What else need be said about Trump's level of depravity?
56
The families of Sandy Hook need justice done against this poseur . "I have watched a lot of soap operas and I know actors " , well Jones is a bad actor who is responsible for the harassment these families have endured by his followers . The culture of ugly hatred propagated on line by his lies is beyond despicable . He needs to answer for the damage he has done to many .
31
It’s beyond heart wrenching that the parents of Newtown victims have to tangle with this odious hate monger, whose M.O is compounding their grief. To lose a child is every parent’s worst nightmare. I hope they prevail in court.
29
"Conspiracy theorist" is too nice a term for Alex Jones. He is a cynical hate merchant whose business plan is reckless disregard for the truth. If courts agree, the Sandy Hook parents will ruin him, and rightly so.
89
Perfectly said.
Thanks.
5
There is a simple explanation for Alex Jones and it's the human trait of disbelieving something that is so horrible. Even after the dead are buried and morned there is still an element of disbelief that this awful event actually happened.
Think of the holocaust deniers, or the Kennedy assassination. Jones, has taken this trait and monetized it. The answer, as with the holocaust, was to show photographic proof of it's occurrence. It's not perfect, because even being there, there is a sense of disbelief about the event. But, looking at the pictures, can bring the event into a sense of reality and acceptance.
With the Sandy Hook event, Jones has an easy time of it because there were no published pictures of the children having been killed. It's understandable that parents would not want this to be seen, but in the case of Alex Jones and more importantly, gun advocates, it's a key to getting people to accept the horrible carnage as something that actually happened.
9
You say "there is a simple explanation for Alex Jones and it's the human trait of disbelieving something that is so horrible. Even after the dead are buried and morned there is still an element of disbelief that this awful event actually happened."
You give Jones and his pack way too much credit. It's not the awfulness of the event that produces the results we see; it's the awfulness of Jones and his followers.
8
"There is a simple explanation for Alex Jones and it's the human trait of disbelieving something that is so horrible. Even after the dead are buried and morned there is still an element of disbelief that this awful event actually happened."
You give Jones and his suckers far too much credit. It's not the awfulness of the event that dictates the results we've seen; it's the awfulness of Jones and those who believe him.
2
Worst of all are the so-called Christians raining hate on those who deserve love. What is wrong with them?
37
Malicious hucksters like Jones are a continuing rot on our society. I sincerely hope the Sandy Hook families are successful. But what does it say about our educational system that he has so many followers? We need to teach our schoolchildren about disinformation and propaganda, perhaps using Alex Jones as an example. We need to teach them how to verify claims to prepare them for the wilderness. We need to teach them logic.
27
We have to keep them away from the little entertaining, lighted screens long enough to understand that there is a real world out there. I've heard children ask their parents in places like the supermarket or theatre, "Mom is that real?"
When you have children growing up to disbelieve or reject what is going on right around them in favor of manufactured "reality" in little pictures on a screen, when you have them challenging their parents and teachers because that's not what the Internet or Snapchat is telling them, we are in big trouble. And so we have young men acting out their fantasy of shooting up their high schools, murdering their classmates, because it is no longer real, and maybe they are trying to see if it is.
We have opened a Pandora's Box.
1
Wow Fox News pundits and Trump should pay a lot of attention to the court case.
17
What kind of country fosters anti-factual "deniers" of gun-mass-shooting catastrophes, the Holocaust, and climate change, etc, etc?
25
I am so glad to hear about this, Alex Jones is a weirdo and racist, and wallows in conspiracy theories, and also was a big supporter of Trump and had Trump on his radio shows on a regular basis.
6
It speaks volumes to me that an arrogant narcissist like Peter Theil spent profligate sums subsidizing a lawsuit proxy against Gawker for "Hulk Hogan" suffering from having his sex tape published, but keeps silent on the likes of Alex Jones and Trump.
24
Alex Jones is a malicious, dangerous man who spreads conspiracy garbage for a living. And he has made a very good living at it. Akilling, one might say.
I hope these families do not stop until Alex Jones is bankrupt and behind bars. Even if that should happen, Jones will have not suffered one iota as much as he has made these people suffer - and for no reason at all. To make money! The level of cruel, emotional, and completely unnecessary duress that Jones has caused these devastated families is beyond comprehension. He originated this filth and it has cost these families dearly. The courts need to make an example of Alex Jones' dangerous abuse of the First Amendment. He is a cancer on society. Put him away and maybe the other conspiracy theorists will think twice before they spread this filth.
26
Hate crimes are inexorably linked to these pathological personalities spewing hate as fact. Germany had to make holocaust denial illegal in order to stop the likes of Alex Jones and Trump. Lets hope we can get it under control a bit sooner than that.
23
If Gawker can be sued into bankruptcy let’s hope the same happens to Alex Jones and Infowars.
33
"Mr. Jones might have remained a peripheral conspiracy theorist had it not been for Mr. Trump ..." Wake up, New York City people! Jones and his ilk have been poisoning the airwaves in rural America for a long time. In many places, including rural Alaska, the only options are public radio or stations owned by monopolies such as Clear Channel and Sinclair, that load up their schedules with syndicated right-wing talk shows. Over time people soak up this stuff and it permeates their worldview.
540
Still, they choose to listen. We feed our minds, just as we feed our bodies. There’s a responsibility.
42
Absolutely true. InfoWars and Trump have become normalized. The established information systems and their messages are very powerful influences over what a culture absorbs. So are respected personalities like Joe Rogan, who give people like Jones a wide platform without holding them accountable for the serious damage they've done.
14
InfoWars and Mr. Jones: a weirdo peddling snake oil and fake news to other weirdos while hurting bereaved families. Does this man not have any shame? We know he doesn’t have any compassion.
22
He’s a Limbaugh wannabe.
7
Are the families going to sue everyone that has posted online that Sandy Hook did not happen the way it was reported? Or are they just gunning for Alex?
Show me a publication that does not engage in falsehoods. Any one remember a newspaper printing information written by their reporter named Judith Miller which helped start a war that killed a lot of people?
4
Alex Jones initiated this cruel Sandy Hook conspiracy theory and he needs to pay the consequences.
This is deliberate, malicious abuse of the First Amendment with the intent to harm the families of the Sandyhook victims. And he has caused them irreparable psychological harm.
10
False equivalency of what falsehood means. If serious media get something wrong, they issue a retraction. They don’t invent malicious rumors, that are inciting their followers to harass these parents.
Alex jones created this abject myth. Thus he is in part to blame for the action of his listeners.
12
"Are the families going to sue everyone that has posted online that Sandy Hook did not happen the way it was reported? Or are they just gunning for Alex?"
They will go after the person/organization that has caused them the most harm, as is their right. It is not their duty to go after everyone that disagrees with the facts of the event. If they go after one person, they are not bound by anyone's standard to go after everyone else.
If people post online saying that the event was fake, that could be their idiotic opinion. But Alex Jones spread falsehood claiming it was true. He has caused harm and does not have any proof on his claims. For that, he has to pay. If he pays, others will think twice making claims without proof.
This type of behavior must have consequences.
14
Justice will have been served when the only thing Jones can afford to eat are the leftover cans of nasty diet powder he peddles on his despicable show.
30
I am probably speaking for millions of Americans. . ..
. .to say nothing of the grieving families of Sandy Hook. .
. .. when I express the ardent hope that someone. . ..
. .. THROWS THE BOOK AT MR. ALEX JONES.
This man--and men like him--are plague spots on the face of America.
I first became aware of Mr. Jones when I went on YouTube and listened to his "debate" with British journalist, Mr. Pierce Morgan.
The only possible word is "unspeakable." Mr. Jones (sedulously allowing his opponent no time to speak or respond) wound up his "debate" by
(1) screaming.
(2) rolling his eyes.
(3) challenging him to a wrestling match
(4) urging him to become an American citizen.
(5) telling him this was Lexington--Concord all over again.
(6) and doing a wretched imitation of a British accent.
HORRIFYING!. . . .
. .. that such a man voices the fears and hatreds of millions--no, TENS of millions!--of deluded Americans.
His--no, THEIR--assault upon the families of the Sandy Hook massacre. . ..
. . words fail me. Only Nazis could be capable of such unutterable depravity. I am shocked. But no. . . .
. . I am living in Donald Trump's America. Nothing shocks me anymore.
That Mr. Jones has (in effect) embraced our President. And been (warmly) embraced by him in return. . ..
. . .noscitur a socio said the ancient Romans.
A man is known by the company he keeps.
Would to God we were rid of them both!
(You listening, Lord? Lord?. . . .)
32
Trump's buddy CEO David Pecker at the National Enquirer isn't buying the families off to protect Trump's other buddy Jones? Is the mutual loyalty lost amongst these greedy immoral miscreants?
12
I am amazed these families have the strength to push this fight forward after all they have been through. Best wishes for them.
31
It's exhausting. And not all in any of these sad, sad groups get into it. A very personal decision.
That said, I applaud the families who are taking on this cretin.
~ 9/11 family member.
1
Character is destiny. May he be sued into The Stone Age. And back under a rock.
67
Hear, hear. This story angered me.
5
We have lost our moral compass. A morally corrupt miscreant occupies OUR white house, and screed like this is who the people listen to. Take him down, parents of Sandy Hook. We need you to succeed.
49
This is the best thing I've read today. I hope these families clean his clock.
I've been wondering for quite some time, when people like Jones, Hannity, Limbaugh, Gingrich and all their fellow travelers in the world of post-truth/alternate fact/hate mongering, are going to face legal action for their words.
If you've listened even a little (which is all I can stomach), they don't just tell lies - they tell whoppers, they defame, slander and liable daily. They hurt people with words. They endanger people with words. They emulate trump and are encouraged by him, thus the escalation in sleaze. He gets away with it so they can too. It also makes them $$.
Consider the HRC child molestation/pizza nonsense. That could have easily led to someone being killed. Consider trump's campaign suggestion that "2nd amendment people" go after "crooked" Hillary. I heard Mark Levin come right out and express his desire for a final solution to Obama during his term.
It's high time someone decided to fight back. I'm sorry it's the Sandy Hook parents after what they've been through. I applaud their courage, and wish them much success in taking down the loathsome Alex Jones. May he be the first of many.
85
Has only one of "The True Believers Of A.Jones" (son of Jim Jones, master of Ghana death by kool-aid fame) been arrested, prosecuted and sentenced? Smacks of Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines which helped fuel the Rwandan Genocide.
6
The problem is not so much Alex Jones, or Trump, or any of the others who like to promote obvious falsehoods for personal gain, the problem is that millions of people believe it! Something is amiss in our society if so many people are so gullible and that they become easy pray for con artists like Jones and Trump. It does not bode well for democracy that these same people also vote.
37
Sending good wishes to the families. May their endeavors meet with success.
36
Good for the victim's families! May they prevail.
Though I think it is sad they have to pay money to lawyers to get this suit litigated. Hopefully, their lawyers are doing this Pro Bono.
I also hope these families know that despite that some people believe they are part of a cover up-due to the lies of Alex Jones, the majority of decent Americans know otherwise.
18
Despicable, making $millions off the murders of small children. Haven’t these families been through enough? Throw the book at him.
I would like to help defray the families’ legal cost, but I couldn’t find anything online. If NYT could publish how to contribute, it would be much appreciated.
42
Defray the families' legal costs? They aren't in jail charged with a crime. They are pursuing an optional plan of action, probably at the urging of lawyers hoping to make big dollars.
1
No the families aren’t in jail. This is a civil suit.
1
The only way justice is served here is if Alex Jones is bankrupted and disgraced.
65
Donald J. Trump should also be charged as a co-conspirator with this wicked person, "...whom President Trump has praised for his “amazing” reputation."
"The suit filed on Wednesday emphasizes Mr. Jones’s reach and connection to Mr. Trump. On his show last year, Mr. Jones called himself and his listeners “the operating system of Trump.” Later he said, “I’m making it safe for everybody else to speak out just like Trump’s doing, on a much bigger scale.”
21
Jones deliberately lies to provoke hate and mistrust. Let us hope that sooner rather than later the judge hearing the defamation suit compels Jones to retract his lies and pay monetary damages to the parents who are still aching from the horrible murder of their children.
22
I wish there were a way other than a Defamation case to pursue a course for justice against this peddler of lies. It is not merely “opinion” when his statements lead others to stalk, harass, and issue death threats to the bereaved families of Sandy Hook. It is a monstrous twisting of First Amendment rights, which were originally envisioned as protecting an individual from a powerful monarchy. But when these “opinions” influence thousands via InfoWars, the megaphone effect magnifies the malice tenfold. The framers of the Constitution could never have envisioned the overwhelming power and reach of social media and broadcast. There needs to be special scrutiny and responsibility for those who possess this amplified voice as it is not merely “one man’s opinion” that is in play here. It is a loaded microphone wielded by an angry man in a bunker, with sponsors, who wants to stir up as much trouble as puts cash in his pocket and fans in his base. Like the argument against falsely yelling “fire” in a crowded theatre inciting panic, those with the microphone- or megaphone- need to be held to a higher standard of responsibility and culpability.
21
How do we contribute to the families' legal fund?
Jones is profoundly repulsive and remarkably hurtful.
32
All my support to these victims of a horrific tragedy, and their quest to silence the monster Alex Jones. They are better people than I, because I would not sue someone like Jones who said such things, I would end their life on earth, with the very guns they love so dear.
9
It's one thing to have the freedom of speech and it's a totally different thing to malign speech.
Someone may have an opinion of how things work but when you voice those opinions you have to say that it's only your opinion and if there are no facts to back up your opinion then you better expect some consequences.
Jones like Trump wants to live in his own little world that doesn't really exist, so he better get ready for a rude awakening.
9
I so hope they win, because we need a legal reckoning with media outlets that peddle malicious nonsense.
I think it’s unlikely they will win, because we interpret the 1st amendment as a right to opinion, not as a right to accuracy
8
I don't understand; didn't Alex Jones's lawyer already say, while previously defending him in court, that it's all an act?
1
Hate speech and speech inciting violence is not free speech.
7
The damage has already been done.
4
During the reporting of hurricane Katrina and its destruction of the city where I grew up, (every school I attended from elementary to high school was destroyed) I got sick watching the inaccurate, hyperbole reporting of TV reporters trying to make a name for themselves and boost the ratings of their employers. It made me ill to watch it. So I turned it off. Instant relief. Out of sight, out of mind. It works. Fortunately I didn't identify myself in the media to the general public. I know to avoid it when the potential presents itself. Therefore, no one approached me, threatened me, said bad things about me, that I know of. I have deleted my Facebook account and Twitter accounts, but now I have unidentifiable no name accounts that only Twitter or Facebook can identify.
This publicly reported lawsuit will just make things worse for the suing families. It's not fair but that's the way it is. I'm inclined to follow the policy of the British royal family who just doesn't even acknowledge such nonsense.
I expect that those families have been assailed by dozens, if not hundreds, of lawyers telling them they should be angry and indignant and should sue.
1
These families are aggressively harrassed and, in some cases, threatened by Jones' mob to the point of having to move into gated, secured homes. Keeping their heads down won't stop the hate directed toward these grieving families thanks to InfoWars. They need Jones to admit that he lied and to tell his people to stop.
9
It is time to introduce accountability for the deliberate use of falsehood as a means of deception. It should be actionable, like fraud, both criminally and in common law. Access to a remedy should fit the degree of harm being done. The days of "...but words can never hurt me" have long since passed. The lie has been weaponized, in some cases quite literally.
14
They should go after the soapbox Jones is standing on, not Jones for selling soap.
Before the internet a character like Jones would be on some minor radio station in the wee hours, in the middle of nowhere - heard only by truckers passing through and insomniacs.
But thanks to Twitter, Google, YouTube, and friends, he is given the same level of access that major broadcasters have.
However, because his message is so dangerous, the impact is just so much greater. Not much different than Russia, really - throwing our election for the price of a modest one bedroom apartment in Manhattan.
8
Finally I understand. We are not doing anything about gun violence because it does not exist. All of these episodes, including the one in Texas this past week are part of a hoax. And all of those reports about brave first responders confronting the shooters are lies that police chiefs, sheriffs and other law enforcement officials peddle to the public to make their departments look good. Those fifty-six law officers killed in the line of duty are really not dead. It is so great to have people like Alex Jones and Ollie North around to make us all feel safe.
10
What's that online publication sued out of existence?
Gawker.com
Alex Jones, next
the New York Times. These attacks on the "free" press aren't coming from Trump.
5
Please.
Trump gripes about the press every single day. He has what amounts to State propaganda with Fox.
Reporting his lies must be a tiresome task for any serious journalist.
24
No, Aristotle. The New York Times does not knowingly and maliciously publish falsehoods concerning the unfortunate victims of heinous crimes; nor does it pander to violent extremists who threaten such victims, all in hopes of selling more bottled snake oil to benighted fools at huge profit.
Values do still matter. The distinction between the truth and intentional fabrication is not a matter of 'opinion.' And intentional, malicious fabrication is not now and never has been protected under the First Amendment.
The First Amendment protects bona fide journalism. It does not protect bald faced liars like Alex Jones.
Got that?
42
Nope. I don't got that.
You failed to discern the point of my comment. It wasn't so obvious as you assume.
Unfortunately the NYT does lie and manipulate its readers, perhaps not so crudely as Alex Jones, but eventually the NYT would fall victim to a zeal to enforce a policy of reporting the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. The NYT even claims to do that but they don't. I know the facts and I see what they publish. The NYT lies too, on a regular basis, but plenty of the readers don't know any better and they buy subscriptions.
Donald Trump praised this repellent charlatan for his 'amazing reputation' and openly pandered to the members of the Infowars cult.
Not much more we need to know to draw the valid conclusion that our nation is in peril.
27
Jones and Trump both lie frequently, intentionally and in belligerently reckless disregard for the potential harms brought by their malicious and capricious falsehoods. They do so for their own personal gain, notoriety and benefit at the expense not only of their direct victims but at the tremendous expense and pain of our whole society.
Their conniving and malice does not occur in a vacuum, but in the opposite bilious atmosphere of mass murders and human tragedies that can further provoke psychotic and violent reactions by the mentally ill and emotionally troubled against more innocents.
Their speech is therefore as unprotected as exclamations of falsehoods intended to create riot, panic and mayhem from any crowd so predisposed that would otherwise be less emboldened or justified to act criminally. This makes them liable and parties to such actions and guilty of incitement as well.
It is appropriate that their civil remedy be sufficiently harsh to nullify any potential for gain or advantage seen in their type of behavior by others tempted to emulate them.
34
I hope they not only win, but that they bankrupt Alex Jones. He is guilty of defamation. Probably some other things, too.
37
If ever the phrase "with malice aforethought" had meaning, it's in this case. Sue him into the ground.
49
Well it is a crime scene. I'd first agree with coroner - no handling of the bodies happened. But! Perhaps the saic and wheeler had a special moment the coroner was unaware.. the deniers' photo actually bolsters this scenario in my mind.
But, but - it is again too bad the reporter didn't address the dissonance. An official account countering a parents narrative is one to be silenced with fact. I'd like to know if Wheeler's claim can be or has been authoritatively confirmed.
The word of the parent who lost their son in the way this man did is good enough for me. Do you truly believe the father is making this up? Why are you so important that you have to have hard evidence? For the parents to prevail in court, that is a different standard. Hopefully they do prevail.
16
The reporter didn't need to address the so-called "dissonance" as there is none and the truth has been common knowledge for years. Give it a google and you will discover that the medical examiner released the bodies to the parents for funeral services after he completed his examinations. Thus, supporting the fact that Mr. Heslin was the last person to hold his son.
If a piece of reporting has to support every bit of common knowledge it contains, then eventually we'll have links to data proving the earth is round! Sadly, however, that may be exactly where we're headed given the state of education these days.
17
There is no dissonance. If the father says he was there and held his son, he was there and held his son. That this happened isn't an open question because a conspiracy spouting sociopath says so to generate revenue or the truly ill informed choose to entertain the thought. This isn't a "reasonable people may disagree" kind of question. What you would like to know is really not important. A man had to hold the murdered body of his six year old child. He doesn't need to demonstrate it to your satisfaction.
18
I hope these families, who are forced to relive this horrific tragedy prevail in our courts; and secondly, that this sets a precedent on the misuse of freedom of speech in this country that you can't peddle lies to make money off the suffering of others. Alex Jones and his ilk are a danger to the freedoms we cherish like free speech; they cheapen it with their paranoid spin.
19
Perhaps there are things lower than this man but I am at a loss for coming up with something. There is indeed a sickness in this country, perhaps these brave families can expose it to the light. This horrific man needs to learn a lesson.
31
A significant cancer on public discourse is the monetization of news as entertainment. It shows up in mainstream media with celebrity and entertainment stories carried ad nauseam as news. Think of O.J. Simpson as an inflection point. For conservative media, politics is their gold mine.
Outlets like Fox News, Rush Limbaugh and "InfoWars" have found an audience that is reliable, when fed a constant diet of confirmation-bias entertainment disguised as news and commentary.
Sadly, those sources must spin narratives that deviate further and further from reality in order to maintain that audience. This is how we arrive at Alex Jones peddling this unconscionable lie about Sandy Hook families. As if the horrific murders of their children weren't enough, now they must live in constant fear for their safety because of Jones' greed.
Likewise, the rest of the country is now saddled with Donald Trump as President in no small part because of fictional conservative media narratives leading a large part of the public to a place where they are unable and unwilling to perceive reality.
This has to stop. Freedom of speech does not mean freedom from consequences. Jones' lies should not enrich him. Every dollar he as made from his lies about Sandy Hook families should be stripped from him, and he should lose more in punitive damages. The only way to stop this cancer on our public discourse is to make abject falsehoods unprofitable. Without the profit, there is no motive to tell the lies.
757
Yes. I wonder at what point Jones' words cross the line over to what is considered hate speech. His words seem to fall under the category of "defamation" - which is not protected by the first amendment.
35
Unfortunately, there is no law against being an offensive jerk. I am not a lawyer, but the case would rest on proof of harm done. That might not be so hard to prove.
And to Michael's point, exactly: freedom of speech does not mean freedom from consequences.
Let's just hope we can bring down his hero and all the other scoundrels. Without a leader, Alex Jones is nothing - but he himself must also be presented from becoming a leader...
This guy makes me sick especially that he leverages his sideshow to make millions while causing real harm and suffering...
But can he claim 1st amendment protection? He had a civil suit for custody of his kids where he took the tact that his show was a ‘persona’ and not the real him since they were going to take his kids away because he acts so crazy on his show. Thus if he is a ‘persona’ on his show then it is not an ‘opinion’ that he peddles but a message with the real intent (and premeditated to boot) to cause pain/suffering for the sake of profit/fame. How can this possibly be hard to be found guilty for defamation?
17
Godspeed to the families and lawyers who are pursuing this man, who is a complete fabrication in his own right. Symptomatic of a larger disease; perpetrator of the spread of the contagion, he is the pied piper of all who failed to learn anything of values during their school years. Using his online pulpit he led the easily led into Trump town. May the verdict bankrupt his enterprise, after the families receive just compensation that is.
13
Trump is a big fan of Alex Jones. Does Trump agree with him?
5
I hope he spends the rest of his life in jail, terrorized by the other inmates, then sent to solitary confinement for his own protection.
15
"Mr. Jones and his colleagues “persistently perpetuated a monstrous, unspeakable lie: that the Sandy Hook shooting was staged, and that the families who lost loved ones that day are actors who faked their relatives’ deaths.”
It is the actions by Alex Jones and others who believe his bogus theories that proves pure evil and hatred encompasses this world. "For the families of Sandy Hook victims to endure daily threats and online abuse from these people" not to mention the deep pain and loss of their child which they feel every moment of every day is beyond deplorable and understanding.
These are the same kind of haters who claim that the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center never took place, that the entire scenario was a hoax.
I cannot begin to fathom that kind of hate in anyone's heart, nor can I begin to understand that degree of sorrow these families experience every day of their lives.
I have no answers. I can only wish these families success in court in stopping people like Alex Jones from spreading his brand of hate and mental illness.
26
Through his "leadership" by example, Trump emboldens and enables the very worst, most vile elements of our society (as bad or worse than MS-13 and other so-called "animals"). I hope Jones and his ilk are all sued back under the rocks they crawled out from. They have no shame. What has happened to decency in this country?
15
The tragedy isn't Alex Jones, he is nothing new, it's that people believe him!
23
"If we can get you to believe absurdities, we can get you to commit atrocities." - Voltaire
30
I don't know what is more horrifying the fact that schoolchildren were gunned down, the fact that there are people malicious enough to spread these lies, the fact that there are people stupid enough to believe him, or the fact trump holds the highest office in the land and has condoned and celebrated the despicable Mr. Jones. This is our leadership?
22
How does Alex Jones sleep at night? What a despicable human being.
20
People like Alex Jones are propaganda ministers of evil. I praise the parents of Sandyhook and hope they are successful.
15
Go get him. I hope they win big! America stands with you, families of Sandy Hook.
16
Sue and keep on suing. This horror of a human being deserves to be exposed for the rank, disgusting piece of vermin that he is. As for his listeners, they deserve to be lied to. My apologies to the families who have to live through this horror over and over again. You should expect better from your fellow citizens.
12
We won't be rid of our national sickness until Jones and his type are bankrupted with massive judgments. He needs to live his life hounded by creditors to pay off the judgments he so richly deserves. With the first amendment being used by corporations to drown our democracy in bribes, for conspiracy theorists to hound and harass people whose children have been slaughtered, or used for religious liberty claims to speak freely about Christianity being the only true faith....well I for one have ceased seeing how an unlimited first amendment which caters to societies most deranged, bigoted and evil elements helps our society.
62
The US was once a country to look up to. Even people who displayed anger towards it more often than not did so with an element of grudging admiration. Admiration for the ideas on which the US was founded, admiration that the American Dream was something truly attainable if you worked hard enough. Today the world looks upon the US in “wonderment” but of a very different kind. Today we see a nation led by a President for whom lying about even basic facts is second nature. We see a GOP, which used to be a party which had strong and clear principles, a party which laid claim to a moral high ground based on its Christian believes, no longer seems to care about any of these things. In the International realm the Democrats are invisible, they certainly do not provide any clear, alternative narrative to counter the Trump/GOP policies which reaches foreign shores. Then you read stories like this, which do reach foreign shores (absurd news has a habit of traveling) and which serve to confirm that all of the US seems to have completely lost it. An awful sentiment has befallen me recently (and I do mean that sincerely): can someone who is a Trump and/or GOP supporter be trusted? If you support a man, a party which seems to have no principles left, which condones lying, accepts misogyny then maybe those characteristics are also part and parcel of the character make-up of that individual. Have I stopped trusting my GOP friends in the US? No I have not but there is a “but”. That is very sad
27
What is especially repellent in this case is Trump's embrace of Jones. perhaps he sees in him a kindred soul- a blatant opportunist who will do and say anything to make a buck, no matter how false or vile.
42
In depth psychology, the term 'repression' might refer to a memory that does not conform to one's beliefs or worldview. This appears to be the case in Holocaust deniers, and probably applies to Sandy Hook elementary too. That is, it is sometimes easier to denigrate or alter the meaning of facts, rather than to change one's own belief system.
2
If they shut down Alex Jones it will mean many more publications will have to cease and desist too, like tabloids that say Hollywood actors were captured by aliens from Mars, etc.
People magazine will have to restrict publication. Sarcasm and satire will become illegal. Saturday Night Live will have to be cancelled. Alec Baldwin will be out of a job.
If Alex Jones' broadcasts can incite a complete random stranger to storm into a pizza shop with an AR15 threatening mayhem, why is it so difficult to believe that these "mentally ill" shooters who commit these crimes, like Adam Lanza, are not similarly manipulated into committing mass murder? These shooters are obsessed with online killing games. They participate in closed chat rooms where they can be specifically identified and personally influenced. Statements by surviving shooters show that they were influenced by media reporting of events and alter their tactics in response to what they see and read.
The so-called legitimate press, like the NYT, et al, deliberately report and analyze in a manner that incites an emotional response, to get clicks on their articles, to make advertising revenue, to reassure their partisan paying readership.
2
All I can say is wow, that's out there! Alex Jones is the extreme of the extreme. You say that the NYT is magnifying what he did. Have you read any of his "work"? No magnification needed.
5
No. I didn't say that. I didn't say the NYT is magnifying what he did.
If what Alex Jones says is so extreme and obviously untrue then it must fall into the realm of satire.
I stopped at "sarcasm and satire will become illegal". Sarcasm and satire, branded as such, are nothing illegal. Now correct me if I'm wrong but it seems to me Alex Jones is pretending to be a journalist, not a comedian like Ms. Wolf.
10
I hope they nail Mr. Jones' hide. to the barn wall. Financially anyway.
23
From the article: 'Mr. Jones called himself and his listeners “the operating system of Trump.” Later he said: “I’m making it safe for everybody else to speak out just like Trump’s doing, on a much bigger scale.” '
NYT used to be an enabler of Trump, running puff pieces on him. The national media - CNN, MSNBC, and of course Fox News, gave Trump free air time to put forth his provocative nonsense so they can gain ratings.
Frank Rich's article in New York Magazine "The Original Donald Trump" makes for depressing reading. What is clear is that the media and the politicians of either party in New York were free of ideological moorings and they were after power, money and fame, just like Trump. We were lucky that no New York politician, save for Hillary, another chum of convenience of Trump until she wasn't, had made it to the national scene in recent times. It is our great misfortune that Trump broke the code. He is a better con man than all the others.
10
It's not the odd nut job that's the problem. The problem is the people who willingly believe this horrible malicious lie. But why? Why on earth would anyone want to make the pain of these families worse? Is it about the guns? Is it just to make someone else's life miserable than theirs? I just don't understand.
31
It’s to get attention to sell useless vitamins. Period.
3
I applaud these Sandy Hook families. Some people really do believe the fake news perpetrated by Alex Jones and others. My immediate family is connected with parents of children killed at Sandy Hook Elementary. And yet, somehow Alex Jones and others have convinced one of our immediate family members that the massacre was a hoax. I don't understand it, but some people are very malleable by fake news.
24
So, if there is a market for dishonesty a man can get rich by telling lies. Unless I'm missing something, this appears to be cynical and immoral.
12
After they sue him, the judge should order a mental competency hearing as well. He’s a danger to the general public.
14
I think it is a social imperative to take on these extremist conspiracy theory peddlers.
Admittedly, my first instinct was to dismiss Mr. Jones and his ilk, but for the viciousness and insensitivity of their lies.
The problem is, as we must recognize, they have a following. And their sick fantasies poison our discourse and deepen social divisions.
So, for all those reasons, this guy needs to be taken out the American way -- in the courts!
To Mr. Jones I say, "The wheels of justice turn slowly, but grind exceedingly fine." Auf wiedersehen, baby!
19
Every time I think that thousands of Americans tune in to drink the toxic koolaid aid of truly one of the most morally bankrupt individuals this country has ever produced, my heart sinks. I hope and pray the Sandy Hook families take away every cent of the filthy lucre he has made by exploiting their unspeakable tragedy for personal gain. The fact that the president has expressed admiration for Alex Jones fills me with overwhelming disgust and anger.
22
I am surprised that so few commenters have acknowledged the connection to Trump ... having appeared on this guys show, saying he will never let him down, etc.
The NYT should beat this drum long and loud.
Sad for us all, and of course especially for those families.
23
In better times, Trump's endorsement of the guy who became entranced by George Wallace's speech writer and John Bircher Gary Allen would be the nail in the coffin of a political career.
In these times, Trump's elevation of a stone cold liar to prominence, partly by his vile portrayal of Sandy Hook as pretense, thus making parents have to fight for the truth about their own slaughtered kids is sick indeed.
Jones should be censured, whatever license he has taken away, and he should be in prison for harassing these people and inciting others. Trump and Alex Jones have not a shred of conscience between them. They should pay.
12
This is the best news I've heard since Doomsday (November 9, 2016) -- What these poor families have been subjected to, has been nothing short of a disgrace. Mr. Jones, Mr. Trump and their ilk belong in mental institutions -- not in civilized society and certainly not in the WH. I only wish the American people who have also been subjected to these falsehoods could sue for emotional damage as well. Hate speech is what it is...it has nothing to do with his First Amendment rights. I wish the families only the best -- the country needs to see just what wack jobs Mr. Jones and Mr. Trump are.
15
I wish the Sandy Hook Families justice. It will be a long and painful fight. People like Alex Jones are disgusting. I mean he can rant all he wants and sell his vitamins without having to call the deaths of children bogus and their parents nothing but fakers. His words continue to have negative consequences for the families, painful ones. He can discuss theories all he wants just as long as he labels them theories. Jones is a very mean and hateful man.
10
Alex Jones... Sick . him and Dumpt need to see the light of a court room.
6
Alex Jones knew, had reason to know over and over again that his claims were demonstrably false. Nonetheless he and his vile promoters and syndicators continued to pick the scab of the parents' losses and continue to this day to profit handsomely from their tragic losses. The parents are not public figures. They were thrust into the limelight by the magnitude of this disgusting tragic event. These parents would surely and gladly take back any "fame" for the life of one of these children. Any backpedaling on Jones' part is merely his fear of financial loss. He defames the term bottom feeder and a scourge.
12
Here's the next step : HE will " get Religion " and cry, repeatedly, and beg for forgiveness. And donations. Guaranteed.
8
Here's my hot take: Alex Jones is the actor, not the Sandy Hook parents or the survivors.
If his followers are deeply interested in holding liars accountable, they should pour their time and effort into investigating him.
9
Money may be the only legal remedy, but to prevent his sickness going any further Jones must be discredited and if decent people stand up, publicly humiliated and shamed. When his listeners realize nothing he says is true, we can begin to hope for a return to minimal standards of human decency. Call it making America great again if you like.
6
What about the monstrous lie by Trump that President Obama was not born in the United States? We have known for a hundred years now the disastrous social impact of such Goebbelsian lies. The punishment must be appropriate -- severe and lengthy prison terms. The first amendment defense is specious, and should not be allowed to protect liars on this scale.
13
I am SO GLAD that they are going to try to hold this malicious person accountable. Alex Jones is vile. I am so sad for those parents. No one should be subjected to that kind of abuse, all egged on by this irresponsible vicious person supported & promoted by Trump.
8
I had never heard of Alex Jones or this despicable lie until recently and I must say my mouth dropped when I did read about it. I cannot in my imagination even begin to comprehend the basis for telling such a painful horrible lie. I wish I were again innocent of knowing such people existed.
10
Another example for why the Fairness Doctrine needs to be reinstated
15