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Alex Jones trial updates: Sandy Hook dad recalls stranger’s vile verbal assault after 4 years of Infowars lies

The third week of Jones’ defamation trial against Sandy Hook families has concluded

Oliver O'Connell
Friday 30 September 2022 13:14 BST
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Sandy Hook father Robbie Parker testifies in the Alex Jones defamation trial

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Alex Jones’s second defamation trial over his “hoax” lies about the Sandy Hook massacre has finished its third week in Connecticut court.

The jury heard emotional testimony from family members after a tense conclusion to the previous week’s proceedings, when the Infowars host delayed his return to the witness box following a rant at reporters outside the courthouse.

His own defence attorneys waived their right to cross-examine him, and he is now expected to resume testimony as a witness for his defence next week.

In his testimony, Jones shouted that he was “done apologising” for his egregious claims about the shooting under questioning from the plaintiffs’ lawyer while families of victims broke down in tears in the courtroom.

On Thursday morning, Sandy Hook father Robbie Parker, who found himself the target of hoax accusations the day after his daughter was murdered, concluded his emotional testimony, recalling a vile verbal assault from a conspiracy theorist, four years after the tragedy. He noted that these occurrences corresponded to when Jones would broadcast his lies.

Father tells jury of pain inflicted by Sandy Hook hoax

Ian Hockley testified Tuesday that he was ridiculed online as a “party boy” and an actor after posting a video of the memorial service for his 6-year-old son, who was killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook school massacre.

Hockley is the latest family member of the 26 victims of the shooting to testify at the defamation trial of Alex Jones, where a jury is deciding how much the conspiracy theorist must pay for spreading the lie that the shooting was a hoax.

Hockley, who lost his autistic son Dylan in the shooting, testified that he became the target of conspiracy theorists because he smiled during what he found as an uplifting memorial service.

Father testifies of pain inflicted by Sandy Hook deniers

Ian Hockley testified Tuesday that he was ridiculed online as a “party boy” and an actor after posting a video of the memorial service for his 6-year-old son, who was killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook school massacre

Oliver O'Connell29 September 2022 07:15

Families testify about confrontations with Sandy Hook deniers

A mother who lost one of her sons in the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre testified Tuesday that her biggest fear is that people who believe the shooting was a hoax will harm her other son, who survived the attack at his school.

Nicole Hockley and her former husband, Ian Hockley, were the latest family members of the 26 victims of the school shooting to testify at the defamation trial of Alex Jones, where a jury is deciding how much the conspiracy theorist must pay for spreading the hoax lie.

Families testify of confrontations with Sandy Hook deniers at Alex Jones trial

A mother who lost one of her sons in the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre testified Tuesday that her biggest fear is that people who believe the shooting was a hoax will harm her other son, who survived the attack at his school.

Oliver O'Connell29 September 2022 08:45

ICYMI: Alex Jones believes angry courtroom rant did more damage to opposition counsel

Alex Jones has bizarrely claimed that his irate outburst during testimony at the second defamation trial over his Sandy Hook hoax lies did more damage to the opposition than himself.

The Infowars host fumed at reporters outside the court in Waterbury, Connecticut, on Friday morning as his defence attorney Norm Pattis was inside telling the judge he would waive the right to cross examine Mr Jones.

Mr Pattis said he hoped the move would “lower the temperature” in court and that Mr Jones will take the stand at a later point in the trial as a witness for the defence.

Alex Jones claims his furious Sandy Hook trial rant ‘destroyed’ opposing legal team

Infowars host raged at reporters as his defence declined to call him for cross-examination after he lost his temper on the witness stand

Oliver O'Connell29 September 2022 10:45

Sandy Hook father weeps recalling press briefing that made him top target of Alex Jones’s hoax lies

The grieving father of a victim of the Sandy Hook shooting has broken his silence about the 2012 press conference that made him the top target for Alex Jones’ lies about the massacre.

Robbie Parker’s six-year-old daughter Emilie was one of the 26 students and staff members murdered in the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School on 14 December 2012.

One day after the massacre, the devastated father gave a brief speech to the media where he paid tribute to his little girl who “made the world a better place” for being in it.

Unbeknownst to Mr Parker at the time, it was the first time any of the victims’ family members had spoken out publicly following their deaths.

As he walked up to the microphone, he briefly smiled – something that instantly made him a target of the conspiracy theorist’s lies.

Rachel Sharp reports for The Independent.

Sandy Hook father recalls press briefing that made him top target of Alex Jones’ lies

Robbie Parker told the court that he had been waiting to set the record straight ‘for a long time’

Oliver O'Connell29 September 2022 12:15

Watch: Sandy Hook plaintiff describes conspiracy theories about him

Oliver O'Connell29 September 2022 13:00

Jurors must decide how much Newtown families suffering worth

After watching days of testimony that included the parents of slain children breaking down on the witness stand, a Connecticut jury soon will have the difficult task of coming up with a dollar amount that conspiracy theorist Alex Jones should pay for promoting the idea that the Sandy Hook school shooting was a hoax.

Jurors must decide how much Newtown families suffering worth

A Connecticut jury soon will have the difficult task of coming up with a dollar amount conspiracy theorist Alex Jones should pay for promoting the idea that the Sandy Hook school shooting was a hoax

Oliver O'Connell29 September 2022 13:45

Watch: Alissa Parker testifies about daughter Emilie

Oliver O'Connell29 September 2022 14:15

Alex Jones is ‘the biggest bully I’ve ever faced’, says Sandy Hook mother

The mother of Sandy Hook victim, Jesse Lewis, describes Alex Jones as the ‘biggest bully I’ve ever faced’, weeks after winning a lawsuit against the InfoWars host.

Jones was under fire for claiming the Sandy Hook massacre was ‘hoax’ multiple times.

“Getting on the stand was something I felt like I had to do. I didn’t want to do it,” Scarlett Lewis said in a CNN interview.

“It was the hardest thing I’ve done since Jesse’s murder... I mean this is literally facing the biggest bully I’ve ever faced.”

Sandy Hook victim's mother calls Alex Jones 'the biggest bully I've ever faced'

The mother of Sandy Hook victim, Jesse Lewis, describes Alex Jones as the ‘biggest bully I’ve ever faced’, weeks after winning a lawsuit against the InfoWars host.Jones was under fire for claiming the Sandy Hook massacre was 'hoax' multiple times.“Getting on the stand was something I felt like I had to do. I didn’t want to do it,” Scarlett Lewis said in a CNN interview. “It was the hardest thing I’ve done since Jesse’s murder... I mean this is literally facing the biggest bully I’ve ever faced."Click here to sign up for our newsletters.

Oliver O'Connell29 September 2022 14:45

Day 11 gets underway

Day 11 of the second defamation trial of Alex Jones is getting underway.

It begins with a sidebar discussing how to shorten the charge sheet of jury instructions.

Robbie Parker, father of Sandy Hook victim Emilie Parker, will continue his testimony once the jury is brought in.

On his Infowars show in 2012, Jones made Mr Parker the centre of a horrific allegation that the massacre of 20 children and six adults was a hoax when he accused the grieving father of being an actor when he made a televised statement in memoriam of his daughter.

Oliver O'Connell29 September 2022 15:07

Mr Parker begins by explaining that on top of their grief and planning a memorial for their daughter, the “unknown entity that exists out there” caused by the conspiracy theory surrounding them was an extra weight on their shoulders.

The viewing for Emilie was in Utah on 21 December 2012 and her burial was the next day. The family stayed with family in the state until the second week of January before returning to Connecticut.

The online harassment continued throughout and when they returned home in January. It was that month that they began to connect the dots between what they were experiencing and Alex Jones.

Oliver O'Connell29 September 2022 15:15

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