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An FBI agent struggled to contain his emotions as he described seeing a body inside Sandy Hook Elementary School – a scene conspiracy theorist Alex Jones later claimed was staged by actors.
William Oldenburg was the first witness to testify, and a Connecticut jury began hearing statements at the trial to decide how much Jones owed for spreading the lie that the 2012 Newtown mass shooting didn’t happen.
Mr. Oldenburg broke down as he described himself as the first law enforcement officers to enter two classrooms where 20 children had died.
“Is what you saw at that school fake?” asked Christopher Mattei, the plaintiff’s attorney.
“No,” said Mr. Oldenburg. “It’s horrible. It’s horrible.”
He also recounted how he and others in the community and law enforcement were targeted by threats and conspiracy theories, including those who claimed to be an actor and pretended to be the victim’s father.
“This is one of the worst things that has ever happened, if not the worst thing that has ever happened here, what has happened to them,” Mr Oldenburg said. “People want to say it didn’t happen? Then they want to get rich out of it? That’s the worst part.”
The Waterbury trial was shot less than 20 miles from Newtown, where children and six teachers were shot and was attended by more than a dozen family members of the victims, including David Wheeler, conspiracy Commentators claim that his father is the same person as Mr. oldenburg.
Mr. Wheeler nodded, and Mr. Aldenberg apologized for having to endure because of their similarity.
The Sandy Hook family and Mr Oldenburg say they have been questioned and harassed for years by people who believe Jones’ false claim that the shooting was orchestrated by crisis actors and a conspiracy to take people’s guns part.
Some say strangers videotaped them and their surviving children. They also received death threats and were verbally abused on social media.
Some families have moved out of Newtown to avoid harassment, accusing Jones of causing them emotional and psychological harm.
“You know, you can say whatever you want to me, I don’t care,” Mr Oldenburg said. “Just say what you want. I’m fucking big boy. I can take it.
“But then they wanted to make money, they wanted to make millions. They wanted to destroy people’s lives. Their children were slaughtered. I saw it with my own eyes, and now they have to sit here and listen to me.”
This is the second such trial for Jones, who was ordered by a Texas jury last month to pay nearly $50 million (£43 million) to the parents of one of the murdered children. Jones did not attend the trial on Tuesday, but is expected to appear next week.
A jury of three men and three women, along with several others, will decide how much Jones should pay relatives of the eight victims and Mr Oldenburg. Last year, Judge Barbara Bellis found Jones liable without trial after failing to turn documents over to family lawyers.
The judge also sanctioned Jones on Tuesday for failing to turn over analytical data related to the popularity of his website and his show. She told his lawyers that because of that defeat, they would not be allowed to argue that he did not profit from Sandy Hook’s remarks.
In his opening remarks, Mr Mattey described Jones as a bully, while his own lawyer described Jones as an oddball who should be ignored.
The data Mr Mattei showed jurors showed how Jones’ audience grew when he spread lies about the shooting. He also showed them photos and videos of what Jones said and told the panel they had the tools from their own life experiences to decide what to do in the situation.
“What your parents taught you, what your grandparents taught you, knowing the difference between right and wrong, knowing the difference between the truth and a terrible lie, knowing the importance of standing up to the bully when they prey on the helpless and Profit from it, knowing that unless you stop a bully, a bully never stops,” he said.
“When it comes to stopping Alex Jones, that’s going to be the most important job you do.”
Jones’ attorney, Norm Patis, argued that his client had supported some conspiracy theories for years and that he had a constitutional right to do so.
“At what point do we think he’s the oddball on the country green, if we choose someone we can leave?” he asked.
Mr Pattis told the jury that while Jones was liable for the damage, any compensation should be minimal, claiming the families had exaggerated the damage Jones had caused.
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