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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Via AP news wire

Trial set to begin for Alex Jones in Sandy Hook hoax case

©GANNETT

Jury shown video of Alex Jones mocking Sandy Hook parents

The second defamation trial of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones is underway in Connecticut as he faces the families of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting that he claimed was a hoax in broadcasts to his millions of viewers.

For two days the court has been hearing from an appointed representative of Jones’s media company, Brittany Paz, about its operations, though much of her testimony has been evasive. The jury was shown how Infowars’ audience grew exponentially following the tragedy and company revenues increased dramatically.

Multiple videos have been shown of Jones’ egregious claims about the shooting, including when he mocked the parents of victims as “crisis actors” and displayed completely false information about the events of the day.

Earlier, the sister of one of the teachers killed, and an FBI agent described being fearful of response to the unfounded theories by fans of Jones.

Last month he was ordered to pay nearly $50m to the parents of one of the slain children by a Texas jury following a similar lawsuit. Now, jurors will decide how much he should pay relatives of eight victims and the FBI agent who responded to the scene of the 2012 massacre.

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