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| Photo Credit: AP. |
Alex Jones’ defamation trial is set to begin in Texas in relation to his statement that Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was a hoax.
The Jury whose selection is set for Monday will decide how much the infowars host must pay school parents for misinforming his audience about the deadliest classroom shooting in U.S. history, The Associated Press reports.
The trial
will hold in Austin, Texas where he broadcasts his conspiracy theory messages
after months of delays. The conspiracy theorist is facing fines for ignoring
court orders and he has put his infowars show into bankruptcy protection just
before the trial was originally set to set in April, according to the
Associated Press.
Jones has
been kicked out of YouTube, Facebook and Spotiify for violating hate-speech
policies.
The Associated
Press reported that the trial involves the parents of two Sandy Hook families
but separate defamation cases for other families of the 2012 massacre in
Newtown, Connecticut are yet to be decided.
Jones have
been found liable by courts in Texas and Connecticut for defamation after he
told his audience that Sandy Hook massacre was a hoax involving actors aimed at
increasing gun control, according to The Associated Press. Judges in both cases issued default judgments
against Jones without trials for no-show.
20 first graders and six educators died in 2012 shooting in Connecticut
The 2012
shooting led to the death of 20 first graders and six educators. Mr. Jones and
his Free Speech Systems were dragged to court by families of eight of the victims
and an FBI agent who responded to the school.
According to
The Associated Press, Jones has since acknowledged that the shooting took place
but said he was not responsible for the suffering that parents said they have
endured because of the hoax conspiracy, including death threats and harassment by
his followers.
“No, I don’t
(accept) responsibility because I wasn’t trying to cause pain and suffering,”
Jones said, according to the transcripts made public this month. He continued:
“They are being used and their children who can’t be brought back (are) being
used to destroy the First Amendment.”