A Texas appeals court has cut the $50 million judgment against Infowars founder Alex Jones for falsely claiming that the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was a hoax.
• The ruling reduces the damages awarded to the families of victims, who said Jones’s statements fueled years of harassment and threats.
• The court reviewed the size of the original award while leaving the underlying defamation finding intact.
• Jones has repeatedly promoted false claims that the massacre, which killed 20 children and six educators, was staged.
• The decision is separate from a Connecticut case in which families were awarded nearly $1.5 billion against Jones.
• Jones filed for bankruptcy after the judgments, complicating efforts to collect the money.
The ruling does not erase Jones’s legal responsibility for spreading the falsehoods. It instead focuses on whether the damages imposed by the Texas jury were excessive under state law. The families have pursued compensation while Jones continues to appeal the judgments.