Alex Jones admits Sandy Hook real; must pay parents

The bombastic and gravel-voiced broadcaster testified at his own trial Wednesday that his claims that the 2012 mass shooting didn’t happen were irresponsible. Jones also said he was sorry. But Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, plaintiffs and parents of a 6-year-old boy murdered during the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., said the apology wasn’t enough. A forensic psychiatrist testified earlier this week that the parents live with “complex post-traumatic stress disorder” due to violence and threats they’ve endured as a result of Jones’s claims.

What’s next? On Thursday evening, jurors awarded the parents just over $4 million in damages. Heslin and Lewis had sought around $150 million to compensate for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress, in addition to punitive damages. Now the jury must now decide if Jones should pay punitive damages—that part will involve a separate mini-trial with testimony about the net worth of Jones and his media company.

Dig deeper: Read Susan Olasky’s report from the WORLD Archives about how Christians should respond to news of mass shootings.