The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to hear conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ appeal of a $1.4 billion defamation judgment awarded to families of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims.
The decision upholds a Connecticut Appellate Court ruling in favor of 14 family members of the 20 students and six staff killed in the 2012 Newtown, Connecticut, tragedy, along with an FBI agent who responded.
Jones, founder of Infowars, falsely claimed the massacre was a hoax.
Jones was sued for defamation after labeling the shooting a “false flag” operation to fuel anti-gun sentiment and calling grieving parents “crisis actors.”
Connecticut Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis found Jones liable, with a jury awarding $965 million in compensatory damages in 2022.
The judge added $473 million in punitive damages, later reduced to $323 million on appeal.
Jones argued the judgment violated his constitutional rights to due process and free speech, calling the trial unfair due to “small discovery errors” and “trivial” missteps by his lawyers.
He claimed the verdict, the largest in U.S. libel case history, was unpayable, and a bankruptcy court ruled he cannot discharge the debt through personal bankruptcy.
Jones also lost a similar Texas lawsuit, resulting in a $50 million judgment, which he is separately appealing.
He faces two additional defamation lawsuits from other Sandy Hook families and the family of a man falsely identified as the shooter, both pending trial.
Jones is challenging a court order that could force the sale of Infowars to satisfy the Connecticut judgment.
Despite the rulings, Jones vowed on Infowars to continue speaking out, claiming judges can now “find you guilty” without evidence.
The Supreme Court’s decision leaves the $1.4 billion judgment intact, allowing the families to pursue enforcement.