Live on his show Wednesday, Infowars host Alex Jones mocked a jury ordering him to pay $965 million in a defamation suit brought by Sandy Hook families, cheering as the judge listed off millions in damages for each count.
“Get those numbers up,” Jones said after one count was read, at times giving a thumbs up and raising his hand in the air.
A Connecticut jury on Wednesday ordered Jones to pay the damages to the family of victims of the 2012 Newtown, Conn., school shooting for repeatedly claiming the massacre was a hoax, a staggering amount that surpassed the $550 million that one of the plaintiff’s attorneys had asked for.
“Good. Bravo. What a political joke. What a weaponized system,” Jones said after the judge read one of the counts.
“If I don’t have a billion, I’m upset,” he said moments later, saying he was “proud” to be under attack.
For years, Jones falsely claimed the Sandy Hook shooting was staged, and the judge previously ruled that he was liable for defamation, invasion of privacy and infliction of emotional distress on the victims’ families.
The 2012 shooting left 20 children and six employees dead, in addition to the suspect and his mother.
Jones has apologized for his past comments, but in court last month, the Infowars host said he was “done saying I’m sorry.”
As the lawsuits progress, Jones has also come under scrutiny for his company’s finances.
Free Speech Systems, the parent company of Infowars, filed for bankruptcy in July.
Some of the victims’ families have accused Jones of attempting to shield his assets and enrich himself as he faces damages from the lawsuits and places his company under bankruptcy protections.
Jones will soon face a third trial in Texas brought by parents of another child killed in the Sandy Hook shooting.