Alex Jones’ lawyer compared the conspiracy theorist to The Handmaid’s Tale author Margaret Atwood in a bizarre closing address to the jury.
Norm Pattis invoked literary greats from Atwood to George Orwell to Aldous Huxley while claiming that Mr Jones 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.
In a rebuttal after the lunch break, the victims’ attorney Josh Koskoff dismissed the claims.
“What is it doing in this courtroom? What is Alex Jones, a prophet? If he’s a prophet, he’s a false prophet,” Mr Koskoff said.
Mr Pattis was also admonished by Judge Barbara Bellis for telling jurors that the victims’ attorneys were trying to cash in on a substantial payday.
“It doesn’t mean a thing here for the plaintiffs if it doesn’t go ka-ching,” Mr Pattis said.
Judge Bellis paused his address to order the attorney to “refrain” from further personal attacks.
At the end of his closing argument, Mr Pattis delivered a variation of the Lord’s prayer.
“In the dark night of the soul when they come for you, you want a lawyer at your side. I’m proud to be at Alex’s side,” he said.
The jury will soon begin deliberating how much to award in damages to the families of eight Sandy Hook victims and an FBI agent who were defamed by Mr Jones’ false claims that the mass shooting was a hoax.
Chris Mattei suggested a damages award of at least $550 million, as Jones and Infowars had received an estimated 550 million views from their Sandy Hook hoax content on social media accounts from 2012 to 2018. This estimate was provided by a plaintiffs’ expert witness who testified during the trial to having reviewed the content.
“Every single one of these families were drowning in grief, and Alex Jones put his foot right on top of them.”
