The Supreme Court on Tuesday denied conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ request to review a $1.4 billion judgment against him over his claims that the deadly 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School was a false-flag operation.
The court issued its ruling on Tuesday without further comment from its nine justices. They initially took the case on Friday.
Jones, the face of Infowars, had argued that the judge overseeing his case was wrong to unilaterally find him liable for defaming the families of Sandy Hook victims and an FBI agent without a trial. A spokesperson for Infowars did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
The 2012 mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, killed 20 first graders and six teachers. Jones repeatedly claimed on Infowars that those at the school were crisis actors, prompting multiple lawsuits challenging his false claims.
A judge in Connecticut issued the default ruling in late 2021, finding Jones liable for defamation and infliction of emotional distress due to his multiple violations of court orders and for failing to turn over evidence to the families. She brought in a jury to determine the exact amount of damages, $964 million, and the judge later tacked on another $473 million in punitive damages against Jones and Free Speech Systems, Infowars’ parent company.
Jones also owes $49 million in damages after a Texas judge found him liable for defamation in a default judgment in 2022. He filed for bankruptcy that year, and told the justices in his appeal that the families had “no possible hope of collecting” the payments, according to the Associated Press.
