Alex Jones’ attorney has been dropped as a host at a Connecticut radio station, days after a jury awarded Sandy Hook families $1bn in damages for spreading defamatory lies about the mass shooting.
Norm Pattis tweeted on Friday that he had “parted company” with conservative station WICC where he co-hosted a daily two-hour talkback show.
“It was great fun while it lasted,” Mr Pattis said, who describes himself in an online bio as a “lawyer, writer, contrarian, stand-up comedian”.
WICC programme director Adam Lambetti told The Independent in a statement: “Norm Pattis is no longer with WICC, but we wish him well in the future.”
On Wednesday, a jury reached a staggering $965m damages award against Mr Jones for the emotional and financial harm he had caused to 15 Sandy Hook family members and an FBI officer who attended the shooting in 2012.
Afterwards, Mr Pattis admitted he got his “a** kicked”.
“Ouch,” he said in a post on Twitter.
He has since made repeated appeals for contributions to Alex Jones’ legal fund.
A spokesperson for Mr Pattis said he was unavailable for comment.
The four week trial in Waterbury, Connecticut, heard chilling testimony about how the families of Sandy Hook victims had been repeatedly harassed and threatened as a direct result of Mr Jones defamatory lies that the school shooting was a hoax.
In closing arguments, Mr Pattis compared the conspiracy theorist to The Handmaid’s Tale author Margaret Atwood and George Orwell, claiming he was a “mad prophet” who was trying to warn of a dystopian future.
“There have always been creative geniuses in the world. And they speak loudly,” Mr Pattis said.
The argument was rejected by the six-person jury, who awarded one of the largest defamation settlements in US history.
Mr Pattis was also told off by Judge Barbara Bellis for suggesting that the victims’ attorneys were trying to cash in.
“It doesn’t mean a thing here for the plaintiffs if it doesn’t go ka-ching,” Mr Pattis said.
In an unusual move, Judge Bellis halted his closing statement to order the attorney to “refrain” from further personal attacks.
On his WICC talkback show, Mr Pattis discussed politics and criminal cases, and was a frequent critic of the Biden administration.
