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Alex Jones was portrayed as a bully by the Sandy Hook family’s lawyer and his own lawyer as an oddball who should be ignored while the trial is going on to determine how much conspiracy theorists should pay relatives to Spread the school’s lie shooting is a hoax.
The trial took place in Waterbury, Connecticut, less than 20 miles from Newtown, where 26 children and teachers were shot dead in 2012.
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 alternatives, will decide how much Jones should pay the relatives of the eight victims and an FBI agent who responded to the school. Last year, Judge Barbara Bellis found Jones liable without trial after failing to turn documents over to family lawyers.
More than a dozen family members, including some of the victims’ parents, entered the courtroom to hear opening statements and evidence from the first day.
Plaintiffs attorney Christopher Mattei showed jurors data showing how Jones’ audience grew as he spread lies about the shooting.
He showed photos and videos of what Jones said and told the panel that they had gained 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 Pattis, 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 country green eccentric 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 negligible, claiming the families had exaggerated what they said Jones had caused them.
On Tuesday’s Infowars Network show, Jones portrayed himself as the victim of an unfair show trial.
“How do I deal with it? We’re at war. It’s total tyranny,” he said.
“I’ll tell you, we can appeal for years. We can beat this. If we keep fighting and don’t give up, we can keep it live through everything they’ve done. But fighting three lawsuits in Texas and Connecticut takes huge sums of money.”
Judge Bellis on Tuesday sanctioned Jones 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.
The trial is expected to last about a month and provide evidence from Jones and his family.
The Sandy Hook family and former FBI agent William Oldenburg said they have been questioned and harassed for years by people who believed Jones’ false claim that the shooting was orchestrated by crisis actors and was taken away Part of the conspiracy of people’s guns.
Jones’ web show and Infowars brand, based in Austin, Texas, has been banned by YouTube, Facebook and Spotify for violating hate speech policies.
Jones now says he believes the shooting was real. At the Texas trial, he said he realized what he said was irresponsible and hurt people’s feelings and apologized.
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