# About fucking time. The Sandy Hook families are suing Alex Jones for defamation

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-fucking-time-the-sandy-hook-families-are-suing-alex-jones-for-defamation/812612>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [April 18, 2018, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-fucking-time-the-sandy-hook-families-are-suing-alex-jones-for-defamation/812612 "2018-04-18T03:05:22Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 6

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\
**Post date:** [October 13, 2022, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-fucking-time-the-sandy-hook-families-are-suing-alex-jones-for-defamation/812612/101 "2022-10-13T16:43:44Z")

</div>

FYI, [this New York Times article](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/12/us/politics/alex-jones-damages.html?unlocked_article_code=uzPfIeN6QV-gk9hoW-QVYDobP-Qadzs114bnvB-WID71WAKbabBFj3oINZLucId_CeLyA08sUy0rWdfpfWjYIeGjO5MCQAR4P6XDWl9YTZ1gWiRMWgwhnlAeHEFFBiM0fsP3znFVwoIKtzqdIETMKDy7fafI-PuYG9iekW_0Xgqr7h6DE5PkRpUw14JYMQgC22pIt_F8b4E_wtIEiMsqGE-OjQnnU4aAuLKz5RuvDrHBumoks3WKUJGd-Wd_MaTStxwMTzPHPNpKnD05e71m0IctWEJOHitK__q0UOcpN_JmN4lovWPTjOv5R503NzEhwb02aGM_w_Z_203G_e4&smid=share-url) (gift link) breaks down how much each plaintiff gets in damages for defamation or slander versus damages for emotional distress. IANAL but I believe all of that is considered compensatory, or actual damages.

And also, I believe he lost the suit by default for failing to turn over documents as ordered by the courts. So given that, I don’t see how he can appeal.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\
**Post date:** [October 13, 2022, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-fucking-time-the-sandy-hook-families-are-suing-alex-jones-for-defamation/812612/102 "2022-10-13T16:48:26Z")

</div>

> [@Dewey\_Finn](#):
>
> So given that, I don’t see how he can appeal.

He can certainly appeal the default order. “I didn’t violate discovery orders, and even if I did, default was not the appropriate remedy.”

I’m not saying he’ll prevail, but he can appeal.

Worth noting that he can appeal without posting a bond, but it wouldn’t delay execution on the judgment. In other words, if he can’t post a huge bond (and I’m hoping he can’t) the families could start the process of collecting even while an appeal is pending.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\
**Post date:** [October 14, 2022, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-fucking-time-the-sandy-hook-families-are-suing-alex-jones-for-defamation/812612/103 "2022-10-14T00:06:55Z")

</div>

I believe Jones structured his affairs to make it more difficult to collect (declaring bankruptcy) and the judgement might well be reduced on appeal if granted.

I have never seen or heard Infowars. First time I heard of Jones was in the wonderful book _Them!_ where he seems more than a little disturbed. His more recent conduct is hard to fathom and I was pleased to see this verdict though it will likely be reduced, if any legal error can be challenged. On what other basis can appeals be accepted apart from an error of law?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\
**Post date:** [October 14, 2022, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-fucking-time-the-sandy-hook-families-are-suing-alex-jones-for-defamation/812612/104 "2022-10-14T03:22:26Z")

</div>

I know Jones’ has very popular among his demographic for quite a while now, but I feel like the rest of the us weren’t more aware of him until Rush Limbaugh died. That seemed to be what moved him from the far right radio host\* that you’d hear about once in a while because they said something controversial, to the far right radio host that you hear about all the time.

\*Change ‘radio host’ to podcaster. When I think of Rush, I think of being a kid and hearing it on AM Radio any time I was in the car with my dad.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\
**Post date:** [October 14, 2022, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-fucking-time-the-sandy-hook-families-are-suing-alex-jones-for-defamation/812612/105 "2022-10-14T03:26:53Z")

</div>

Sadly, I bet these peeps never see a dime, at least not for a long, long, long time.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\
**Post date:** [October 14, 2022, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-fucking-time-the-sandy-hook-families-are-suing-alex-jones-for-defamation/812612/106 "2022-10-14T03:37:37Z")

</div>

Oh wow. He was in Them by Jon Ronson? I read that almost twenty years ago before I knew who Alex Jones was. Wonder what part it was. Need to reread.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\
**Post date:** [October 14, 2022, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-fucking-time-the-sandy-hook-families-are-suing-alex-jones-for-defamation/812612/107 "2022-10-14T04:09:40Z")

</div>

It’s near the end. A bunch of old white movers and shakers, famous actors and retired world leaders and the like, got together to network at a sort of annual owl-themed summer camp in 2000, drank a lot, and put on the same play they did every year - an abstract play about gaining freedom by taking care of “Dull Care”. The gathering was called Bohemian Grove. Is it still a thing? No idea.

Ronson, Alex Jones and Jones’ buddy decide to dress like preppies and sneak into the event. Jones secretly filmed part of the get together, had a rather paranoid view of the slightly odd gathering and things in general, and seems to have misinterpreted things in a bizarre fashion (amusingly reported by Ronson). The episode apparently garnered Jones a lot of attention online from conspiracy theorists.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\
**Post date:** [October 17, 2022, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-fucking-time-the-sandy-hook-families-are-suing-alex-jones-for-defamation/812612/108 "2022-10-17T16:25:22Z")

</div>

As usual, the YouTube channel LegalEagle has a good rundown of how this has all played out:

(18 minutes)

[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/YI5orKCzz58/maxresdefault.jpg "Alex Jones's Billion Dollar Bad Day (And Why It's Going To Get Worse)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YI5orKCzz58)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\
**Post date:** [November 10, 2022, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-fucking-time-the-sandy-hook-families-are-suing-alex-jones-for-defamation/812612/109 "2022-11-10T20:22:46Z")

</div>

Here’s a little blurb to lift your spirits:

> Infowars host Alex Jones and his company were ordered by a judge Thursday to pay an extra $473 million for promoting false conspiracy theories about the Sandy Hook school massacre, bringing the total judgment against him in a lawsuit filed by the victims’ families to a staggering $1.44 billion.

Ahhhhhhh. That’s nice.

> **[Alex Jones ordered to pay $473M more to Sandy Hook families](https://news.yahoo.com/alex-jones-ordered-pay-473m-184657882.html)**
>
> Infowars host Alex Jones and his company were ordered by a judge Thursday to pay an extra $473 million for promoting false conspiracy theories about the Sandy Hook school massacre, bringing the total judgment against him in a lawsuit filed by the...

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Tride](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tride/32/13907_2.png) [@Tride](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tride)\
**Post date:** [November 10, 2022, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-fucking-time-the-sandy-hook-families-are-suing-alex-jones-for-defamation/812612/110 "2022-11-10T20:28:30Z")

</div>

And froze his assets, I just saw…

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\
**Post date:** [November 10, 2022, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-fucking-time-the-sandy-hook-families-are-suing-alex-jones-for-defamation/812612/111 "2022-11-10T20:35:58Z")

</div>

Oh, yeah. That, too!

> **[Judge Freezes Alex Jones’ Assets As He Faces Over $1 Billion In Damages For...](https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2022/11/10/judge-freezes-alex-jones-assets-as-he-faces-over-1-billion-in-damages-for-spreading-sandy-hook-conspiracy-theories/?sh=664113cb13fd)**
>
> There were concerns Jones was “looting” his estate and stashing money in shell companies to avoid handing it over in damage payments, according to Bloomberg.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\
**Post date:** [November 11, 2022, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-fucking-time-the-sandy-hook-families-are-suing-alex-jones-for-defamation/812612/112 "2022-11-11T23:47:57Z")

</div>

Judge awards 473 million in damages to sandy hook families.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\
**Post date:** [December 2, 2022, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-fucking-time-the-sandy-hook-families-are-suing-alex-jones-for-defamation/812612/113 "2022-12-02T16:11:53Z")

</div>

Today, [he filed for Chapter 11 personal bankruptcy](https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/02/business/alex-jones-bankruptcy).

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\
**Post date:** [January 21, 2023, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-fucking-time-the-sandy-hook-families-are-suing-alex-jones-for-defamation/812612/114 "2023-01-21T21:19:14Z")

</div>

And now he is two kinds of bankrupt.

[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Vj-iQ-zbrMs/maxresdefault.jpg "Alex Jones Is Now Personally Bankrupt") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vj-iQ-zbrMs)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\
**Post date:** [January 21, 2023, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-fucking-time-the-sandy-hook-families-are-suing-alex-jones-for-defamation/812612/115 "2023-01-21T21:28:29Z")

</div>

What is the difference?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\
**Post date:** [January 21, 2023, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-fucking-time-the-sandy-hook-families-are-suing-alex-jones-for-defamation/812612/116 "2023-01-21T21:31:37Z")

</div>

Now he can run for office!

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\
**Post date:** [January 21, 2023, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-fucking-time-the-sandy-hook-families-are-suing-alex-jones-for-defamation/812612/117 "2023-01-21T21:35:44Z")

</div>

I think it is his company is bankrupt and he is bankrupt.

But, if you watch the video, he is allowed by the courts to have $550,000/year (or more). Cuz he needs it somehow.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\
**Post date:** [January 21, 2023, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-fucking-time-the-sandy-hook-families-are-suing-alex-jones-for-defamation/812612/118 "2023-01-21T21:42:16Z")

</div>

I’m not going to watch the video, but on December 2, I linked to a CNN article that he declared personal bankruptcy. So what is the new news?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\
**Post date:** [January 21, 2023, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-fucking-time-the-sandy-hook-families-are-suing-alex-jones-for-defamation/812612/119 "2023-01-21T21:47:47Z")

</div>

The video details how Jones is taking advantage of the system and using loopholes in the law to benefit himself.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\
**Post date:** [January 21, 2023, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-fucking-time-the-sandy-hook-families-are-suing-alex-jones-for-defamation/812612/120 "2023-01-21T21:50:28Z")

</div>

> [@Peter\_Morris](#):
>
> And now he is two kinds of bankrupt.

> [@Dewey\_Finn](#):
>
> What is the difference?

> [@Whack-a-Mole](#):
>
> I think it is his company is bankrupt and he is bankrupt.

Explained in the very first few seconds of the video. He is bankrupt morally and personally.

Get it? He is morally bankrupt. He has no morals. He’s a bad guy.

[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/-aWcZShT4cI/hqdefault.jpg "FogHorn LegHorn “It’s A Joke Boy. You Missed It.”") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aWcZShT4cI)

[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-fucking-time-the-sandy-hook-families-are-suing-alex-jones-for-defamation/812612.md?page=5)

[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-fucking-time-the-sandy-hook-families-are-suing-alex-jones-for-defamation/812612.md?page=7)
