Alex Jones could face two more defamation trials over school shooting
lies
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[June 15, 2023]
By Dietrich Knauth
(Reuters) - Right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones could face two
more defamation trials in 2023, under an agreement meant to put a price
on lies that Jones told about school shootings in the U.S.
Jones' attorneys previewed the agreement at a Wednesday court hearing in
Houston, telling U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez that it allows
Jones to avoid further trials if he completes a bankruptcy settlement by
Aug. 31.
Jones filed for bankruptcy in December after he and his company Free
Speech Systems LLC were found liable for a combined $1.5 billion in two
previous defamation trials brought by the parents of children killed in
the 2012 Sandy Hook elementary school massacre.
Lopez will decide whether to approve the agreement on June 29. Since
Jones and his company are bankrupt, the trials would not normally be
allowed to proceed without bankruptcy court permission.
Jones has said that he can not afford to pay the Sandy Hook defamation
judgments, and is attempting to resolve all legal claims against him
through a settlement in bankruptcy.
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Jones had claimed the killing of 20 students and six staff members in
the December 2012 shooting in Newtown, Connecticut was staged with
actors as part of a government plot to seize Americans' guns. Jones has
since acknowledged the shooting occurred.
Under the new agreement, three plaintiffs will be able to proceed to
trial in Texas state courts if no bankruptcy settlement is signed by
Aug. 31. The trials would determine the value of the plaintiffs' claims,
but the plaintiffs would not be able to collect on any judgments without
further orders from the bankruptcy court.
Leonard Pozner and Veronique De La Rosa, whose six-year-old son Noah was
killed in the Sandy Hook shooting, would proceed to trial in October.
Jones falsely said that De La Rosa was an actor who "faked" a CNN
interview about her son's death, and a Texas judge found Jones liable
for defaming the parents after he refused to comply with court orders in
the case.
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![](../images/061523PIX/news_a56.jpg)
Infowars founder Alex Jones speaks to
the media after appearing at his Sandy Hook defamation trial at
Connecticut Superior Court in Waterbury, Connecticut, U.S., October
4, 2022. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Jun/15/images/ads/current/bees_lda_HEROES_2023.png)
Survivors of Marcel Fontaine, who was falsely identified as the
gunman in the 2018 Parkland, Florida school shooting, would proceed
to trial in December. Fontaine died in 2022.
The new agreement includes a placeholder value for Pozner, De La
Rosa and Fontaine's claims, which will remain confidential during
settlement talks, Jennifer Hardy, an attorney for the Texas
plaintiffs, said at Wednesday's hearing.
The placeholder value would help determine how assets would be
divided among Jones' creditors in the bankruptcy, and it would
determine the weight accorded to the three plaintiffs' claims in any
future vote on the bankruptcy settlement. Without a placeholder
value, the Texas defamation claims could be given far less weight
than the defamation claims that have already resulted in $1.5
billion in verdicts, according to Jones’ court filings.
The case is Alex Jones, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern
District of Texas, No. 22-33553
For Jones: Vickie Driver of Crowe & Dunlevy
For Free Speech Systems: Ray Battaglia of the Law Offices of Ray
Battaglia
For De La Rosa, Pozner and Fontaine: Jennifer Hardy of Willkie Farr
& Gallagher
(Reporting by Dietrich Knauth)
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