The jury hearing the case will determine how much damages Jones must pay to the parents, Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, who won a default judgment against him earlier this year. A lawyer representing Heslin and Lewis asked the jury last week to award Heslin and Lewis $150 million.
Heslin sometimes fought back tears, telling the jury that Jones, through his conspiratorial media organization Infowars, had “tarnished the honor and legacy” of his son. Heslin said he couldn’t even begin to describe the last nine and a half years of hell he’s endured because of Jones.
“There has to be a strong deterrent that prevents him from spreading this propaganda,” Heslin said, adding that through his testimony he wanted to “restore my credibility, my reputation and Jesse’s legacy that he so deserves.”
As Heslin testified, a television screen in court showed a photo of his murdered son, six-year-old Jesse Lewis. Jones, who is expected to testify in his own defense later Tuesday, was absent from the courtroom during Heslin’s testimony and the first part of Lewis’ testimony. Heslin called the absence “a cowardly act.”
“I’ve been here for a week and a half and [during] my last testimonial mr. Alex Jones doesn’t have the courage to sit in front of me or look at me,” Heslin said.
A lawyer representing Heslin and Lewis told DailyExpertNews the two had to be isolated and under professional security during the trial.
Heslin also said in the stands that Jones’ lie “resonates around the world” and that he realizes “how dangerous” it is.
Heslin described being confronted repeatedly with those who believed Jones over the past decade, saying that such interactions happen “to this day.”
“My life is under threat,” Heslin said. “I fear for my life. I fear for my safety and the safety of my family and their lives.”
Jesse was real. I am a real mother
In a notable courtroom moment, Lewis spoke directly to Jones, who was in court after the trial broke down for lunch. She said she wanted to talk to Jones to his face.
“Jesse was real,” Lewis told Jones. “I’m a real mother.”
Lewis told Jones that she thinks he didn’t really believe the lies he was telling about Sandy Hook.
“That’s the problem, I know you know that,” Lewis told Jones. “But you keep saying it. Why? Why? For money?’
Lewis said it is “an excruciating pain” to “get a six-year-old son in the forehead” while in school.
“And to have someone perpetuate a lie on top of that that it was a fraud, that it didn’t happen, that it was a false flag and that I was an actress — do you think I’m an actress?” asked Lewis.
Lewis told the jury that monetary damages were appropriate in the case, as she does not believe Jones will ever stop.
“There has been no sincere apology,” she said. “But if there ever was, I liken it to a car accident and you run over someone and cause massive physical damage and you look at that person laying on the floor and say, ‘I’m so sorry, I’m sorry. “I’m sorry, I’m not responsible for the damage I just caused. But I’m sorry.” That’s how I see it.”
Regardless, Lewis said she doesn’t believe Jones understands the consequences “of going on the air in front of a large audience and lying and calling this a hoax.”
“It just seems so incredible to me that we have to do this,” Lewis told Jones. “That we have to beg you – not just beg, punish – to make you stop lying… It’s surreal what’s going on here.”
Lewis also testified in court that she has been harassed and received death threats, including in her own home, which she said is reopening the wounds surrounding her son’s murder.
“The fear and anxiety and insecurity … keeps me from healing,” Lewis said. “It definitely negatively impacts the healing process.”
Lewis described the conspiracy theories about Sandy Hook as “deeply disturbing.”
“I feel compromised,” said Lewis, describing how she feels about her own personal safety.
Roy Lubit, a forensic psychiatrist hired to examine Heslin and Lewis, testified in court on Monday about how terrified and concerned for their personal safety the two parents are.
Lubit told the court that Lewis and Heslin are “very scared”. When asked to indicate who they are afraid of, Lubit replied, “A follower of Jones is trying to kill them.”
Lubit explained that Lewis sleeps with a gun, knife and pepper spray on her nightstand. Lubit added that she doesn’t even turn on the air conditioning during hot days for fear of not being able to hear an intruder who might want to harm her.
Lewis testified on Tuesday that she owns a gun to protect her other son, telling the jury that she has failed to protect one son and will do everything in her power to ensure no harm happens to her other child. .
‘This is not your show’
Jones took the stand in the afternoon, telling the court that he felt “good” for being given a chance to back down against the plaintiffs and the news media.
From the stands, Jones told Heslin and Lewis, “I never intentionally tried to hurt you.”
Jones said that “the internet had a lot of questions” about the Sandy Hook shooting, and so did he. Jones claimed he had simply “tried to find out what really happened”.
After the jury left the courtroom following Jones’ testimony, Mark Bankston, the plaintiffs’ attorney, accused Jones and his attorney, Federico Andino Reynal, of trying to “poison” the trial. Bankston said they would file a sanctions motion against both Jones and Reynal.
Bankston specifically said Jones was violating court orders when he tried to discuss his assets from the stand.
“Mr. Jones just purposely did that in violation of your warrant to try to poison this compensatory damages verdict to try and tell this jury that he is broke, and he is not, and that is contrary to your order.” Bankston told the judge.
Judge Maya Guerra Gamble said she will hear all motions officially filed for sanctions against Jones and Reynal after the trial.
But Gamble admonished Jones for his behavior, saying he had already violated his oath to tell the truth twice.
“Mr. Jones, you must not tell this jury that you have complied with the discovery. That is not true. You must not say it again. You must not tell this jury that you are bankrupt. That is not true either.” Gamble said. .
“You’re already under oath to tell the truth,” Gamble added. “You’ve already broken that oath twice today, just for those two examples. It seems absurd to tell you again to tell the truth while witnessing. But here I am again.’
“This is not your show,” Gamble added.
Jones tried to tell Gamble that he believed he was telling the truth.
“You believe that everything you say is true, but your beliefs don’t make something true,” Gamble said. “That’s what we do here. Just because you claim to think something is true doesn’t make it true. It doesn’t protect you. It’s not allowed. You’re under oath. That means things have to be true. true when you say them.”
At the end of the court proceedings, Lewis walked up to Jones and handed him a bottle of water because he had complained that he was having trouble speaking due to a ruptured larynx.
Jones started talking to Lewis and Heslin and the exchange with Heslin became heated.
A lawyer for Heslin and Lewis intervened and told Jones as he escorted his clients out of the courtroom, “That’s not even a thought. That’s not the way this goes.”
Jones yelled back, “Why because you can’t give them fake videos anymore?”
Other legal developments
Jones has lashed out at the court proceedings taking place, claiming unfounded last week that he was being tried in Texas before a “kangaroo court.” Infowars has also published content attacking the judges overseeing the cases in syrupy terms.
Jury selection for a similar lawsuit involving the Jones and Sandy Hook families began Tuesday in Connecticut, where Jones was also found liable for damages earlier this year. But the jury selection was suspended after Jones’ attorneys filed documents in federal court to provisionally dismiss the case over Free Speech Systems’ bankruptcy filing.
Lawyers representing some Sandy Hook families have accused Jones of de-asserting Free Speech Systems in recent years as part of an effort to protect himself from potential judgments he may have to pay.
One of the attorneys, Avi Moshenberg, told DailyExpertNews on Tuesday that Free Speech Systems’ bankruptcy filing indicated that $62 million in assets had been withdrawn from the company in 2021 and 2022.
“If you look at the bankruptcy filing, prior to the bankruptcy filing, Alex Jones, the sole owner… [of Free Speech Systems], took $62 million in draws in 2021 and 2022,” Moshenberg told DailyExpertNews. “Just straight draws. That’s why the company has few assets.”
An attorney representing Jones did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday morning. But a hearing is scheduled for Wednesday in which W. Marc Schwartz, the chief restructuring officer for Free Speech Systems, is expected to testify.
Sonia Moghe of DailyExpertNews contributed to this report.