US conspiracy theorist Alex Jones must pay the parents of a 6-year-old boy killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre $45.2 million in punitive damages — on top of $4.1 million in compensatory damages already awarded — for falsely claiming the shooting was a hoax, a Texas jury decided on Friday.
Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, separated parents of slain 6-year-old Jesse Lewis, testified that followers of Jones harassed them and sent them death threats for years in the false belief that they were lying about their son’s death in the Dec. 14, 2012, shooting that killed 20 children and six staff at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.
The 12-person jury on Thursday decided on the compensatory damages following a two-week trial in the defamation lawsuit presided over by Judge Maya Guerra Gamble in state court in the Texas capital of Austin, where Jones’ radio show and webcast Infowars are based.
The parents had sought $145.9 million in punitive damages and $150 million in compensatory damages. Compensatory damages are awarded to cover a plaintiff’s suffering and losses. Punitive damages are awarded to punish a defendant’s actions.
Jones, who has been a prominent figure in American right-wing circles and a supporter of former President Donald Trump, had called the Sandy Hook massacre a hoax by the US government staged using crisis actors to serve as a pretext for taking away Americans’ guns.
“We ask that you send a very, very simple message, and that is: stop Alex Jones. Stop the monetization of misinformation and lies,” Wesley Todd Ball, a lawyer for the parents, told jurors earlier on Friday before they began deliberations on punitive damages.
An attorney for Jones, Federico Andino Reynal, had asked jurors to return a verdict of $270,000 in punitive damages based on the number of hours Infowars devoted to Sandy Hook coverage. Reynal did not immediately respond to a request for comment after the verdict.
The judge admonished Jones during the trial for not telling the truth during his testimony about his bankruptcy and lack of compliance with requests for documents.
Attorney Doug Mirell, a expert in defamation litigation who was not involved in the case, said the question of Jones’s truthfulness on the witness stand could have been a factor in the jury’s award of punitive damages, noting that it is unusual for a jury to award significantly more in punitive than compensatory damages.
“The jury may have simply latched on to their revulsion at the lies and decided Mr. Jones is truly a bad actor,” Mirell told Reuters.
Forensic economist Bernard Pettingill testified on Friday on behalf of Lewis’ parents that Jones “promulgated some hate speech and some misinformation” and “made a lot of money.” Jones and Infowars are worth between $135 million and $270 million combined, Pettingill said.
Jones sought to distance himself from the conspiracy theories during his testimony, apologizing to the parents and acknowledging that Sandy Hook was “100 percent real.”
Jones’ company, Free Speech Systems LLC, declared bankruptcy last week. Jones said during a Monday broadcast that the filing will help the company stay on the air while it appeals. The bankruptcy declaration paused a similar defamation suit by Sandy Hook parents in Connecticut where, as in Texas, he has already been found liable.
During closing arguments on Wednesday, Kyle Farrar, a lawyer for the parents, urged the jury to end what he called their nightmare and hold Jones accountable for profiting off their son’s death. Reynal acknowledged during his closing argument that Jones and Infowars reported “irresponsibly” on Sandy Hook but said his client was not responsible for the harassment.
The plaintiffs also have accused Jones of approaching the trial in bad faith, citing broadcasts in which he said the proceedings were rigged against him and that the jury pool was full of people who “don’t know what planet they’re on.”
The Sandy Hook gunman, Adam Lanza, used a Remington Bushmaster rifle to carry out the massacre. It ended when Lanza killed himself with the approaching sound of police sirens.
Trump ally Alex Jones told to pay $45.2 million more to Sandy Hook massacre victim’s parents
https://arab.news/n2jrr
Trump ally Alex Jones told to pay $45.2 million more to Sandy Hook massacre victim’s parents
- Alex Jones has repeatedly claimed the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School was a hoax
- 20 schoolchildren and 6 staff were killed in the Dec. 14, 2012, massacre in Newtown, Connecticut
Israeli strikes kill at least 20 people in Gaza as Trump wraps up his Middle East visit
An Associated Press journalist counted the bodies at the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza, where they were brought. Survivors said many people were still under the rubble.
The widespread attacks across northern Gaza come as Trump finishes his visit to Gulf states but not Israel.
There had been widespread hope that Trump’s regional visit could usher in a ceasefire deal or renewal of humanitarian aid to Gaza. An Israeli blockade of the territory is now in its third month.
The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the strikes.
'Want change': in Spain, far right finds support with Romanians far from home
COSLADA: Romania's far-right presidential candidate George Simion has found strong support in a faraway place as he heads for a tense run-off election Sunday: Coslada, a shabby dormitory town outside Madrid with a large Romanian community.
The Spanish town of 80,000 people -- more than 20 percent of them Romanian -- shows the backing Simion has gotten from compatriots abroad, who are poised to help the 38-year-old win against his pro-European rival, Nicusor Dan, the centrist mayor of Bucharest.
At a cafe terrace near Coslada's so-called "Romanians' Square" -- once a meeting place for day labourers looking to be hired by contractors -- several immigrants from the Eastern European country said they had voted for Simion in the first round on May 4.
Simion, a fan of US President Donald Trump and head of the nationalist AUR party, stormed to first place in that vote with his anti-establishment message, taking 40.9 percent.
His margin of victory among the diaspora was even wider: he scored the backing of more than 60 percent of Romanians abroad.
In Spain, he won 74 percent of the vote.
"I want change. And so does everyone back home," said Mioara Mohora as she wrapped salami slices for a customer at the "Economic Market Discount" mini-mart, which was stacked with Romanian products such as pickled vegetables and beer.
Mohora, who is in her 40s and has lived in Spain for eight years, said she decided to cast her absentee ballot for Simion after Romania's constitutional court cancelled the country's initial presidential election last year over claims of Russian interference.
The decision, which came after dark-horse far-right candidate Calin Georgescu unexpectedly topped the first round in November, sparked sometimes violent demonstrations.
Georgescu has been barred from running again.
"It was a protest vote," Mohora said of her backing for Simion.
"They took away our right to vote for the person we actually wanted."
As she weighed minced meat at a nearby Romanian butcher shop, Mihaela Ionescu, 48, said Romanian authorities had "overturned the people's will" with the cancellation of the elections.
Ionescu, who has lived in Spain for two decades, said she did not vote last year or earlier this month, and has no plans to cast a ballot this weekend.
"Romanians are desperate. They are looking for a hero," she said when asked about Simion.
Romania's economy has rallied significantly since the collapse of communism in 1989, but the nation of around 19 million people still grapples with widespread corruption and lower living standards compared to wealthier western and northern European countries.
This has led many Romanians to move abroad. Some 600,000 of them live in Spain, making them one of the largest foreign communities in the country.
Coslada is home to around 17,500 Romanians. Local buses advertise flights to Bucharest, and many shop signs feature both Spanish and Romanian.
The Romanian diaspora is broadly split into two groups, according to the president of the Federation of Romanian Associations in Europe, Daniel Tecu.
"There are those who want to remain anchored in the European Union, who have witnessed Romania's development within the EU and want nothing more to do with Russia," he said.
Simion won votes mainly from the other group: people who are disappointed with the current political class and are "tired of corruption, angry, who don't return to Romania because it's not the country they want", he added.
Florin Padurariu, the owner of Botosani, a Romanian restaurant facing Coslada's train station -- which Simion visited during a tour of Europe ahead of the election -- said "the diaspora used to vote for pro-Europeans, but that's over now".
"I have always voted, but I have always been disappointed," added Padurariu, 55, who said he remained pro-EU and voted for Dan in the first round.
"After 20 years here, you still haven't learned anything? Europe allows you to support your mother, your father and your children, thanks to the money you earn here," he said.
Russia deliberately hit journalists’ hotels in Ukraine: NGOs
- The hotels hit were mostly located near the front lines, the organizations said
- At least 15 of the strikes were carried out with high-precision Iskander 9K720 missiles
PARIS: Russia has deliberately targeted hotels used by journalists covering its war on Ukraine, the NGOs Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and Truth Hounds said on Friday, calling the strikes “war crimes.”
At least 31 Russian strikes hit 25 hotels from the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022 to mid-March 2025, the two organizations said in a report.
One attack in August 2024 in the eastern city of Kramatorsk killed a safety adviser working with international news agency Reuters, Ryan Evans.
The hotels hit were mostly located near the front lines, the organizations said.
Just one was being used for military purposes.
“The others housed civilians, including journalists,” said RSF and Truth Hounds, a Ukrainian organization founded to document war crimes in the country.
“In total, 25 journalists and media professionals have found themselves under these hotel bombings, and at least seven have been injured,” they said.
At least 15 of the strikes were carried out with high-precision Iskander 9K720 missiles, they said, condemning “methodical and coordinated targeting.”
“The Russian strikes against hotels hosting journalists in Ukraine are neither accidental nor random,” Pauline Maufrais, RSF regional officer for Ukraine, said in a statement.
“These attacks are part of a larger strategy to sow terror and seek to reduce coverage of the war. By targeting civilian infrastructure, they violate international humanitarian law and constitute war crimes.”
RSF says 13 journalists have been killed covering Russia’s invasion, 12 of them on Ukrainian territory.
That includes AFP video journalist Arman Soldin, who was killed in a rocket attack near the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakmut on May 9, 2023. He was 32.
Taiwan meets with US for tariff talks in South Korea
TAIPEI: The main Taiwan and U.S. trade representatives met in South Korea for trade negotiations, yielding optimism that further talks would lead to reduced U.S. tariffs on Taiwan exports, the island's Vice-Premier Cheng Li-chiun said on Friday.
At a news conference marking Premier Cho Jung-tai's first year in office, Cheng said chief Taiwan negotiator Jenni Yang reported "good bilateral talks" in which both sides shared expectations of future Taiwan-U.S. economic cooperation and continued talks ahead.
The Taiwan government confirmed in a statement that Yang met with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation's trade meeting on Jeju Island.
"Taiwan is confident it can reach trade balance by increasing purchases from the U.S.," Cheng said, adding that the U.S. is now the top overseas investment destination for Taiwan.
Taiwan was facing U.S. import tariffs of 32% on its products under U.S. President Donald Trump's new tariff policies, before Trump paused the plan last month for 90 days.
Taiwan has since begun tariff talks with Washington, promising to purchase more U.S. goods and invest more in America to achieve more balanced trade.
South Korea set to resume US tariff talks at APEC
- The auto industry accounts for 27 percent of South Korea’s exports to the United States
- Trump announced additional “reciprocal” tariffs of up to 25 percent on South Korean exports last month
JEJU: South Korea is set to resume tariff talks with Washington on the sidelines of a key APEC meeting Friday, an official told AFP, as ministers jostle to meet US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
Trade ministers from the top economies that make up APEC are meeting on South Korea’s Jeju Island amid concerns over the global trading system after US President Donald Trump unveiled bombshell levies on most partners last month.
AFP reporters saw ministers scurrying to meet Greer, who has been holding a series of bilateral negotiations.
Among them was Chinese international trade representative Li Chenggang, just days after the two met in Geneva and agreed to slash tit-for-tat tariffs for 90 days.
Greer is also scheduled to meet South Korean Minister of Trade and Industry Ahn Duk-geun on Friday, a South Korean government official told AFP, with Seoul hoping for significant progress in talks to avoid Trump’s steep tariffs.
The two met in late April in Washington, where South Korea proposed a “July Package” aimed at removing tariffs.
South Korea, which recorded a $66 billion trade surplus with the United States last year, behind only Vietnam, Taiwan, and Japan, making it a key target of Trump’s trade bazooka.
Highly dependent on exports, the country has been hit hard by the 25 percent tariffs on automobiles imposed by President Donald Trump in early April.
The auto industry accounts for 27 percent of South Korea’s exports to the United States, which takes in nearly half of the country’s car exports.
Trump announced additional “reciprocal” tariffs of up to 25 percent on South Korean exports last month, but later suspended them until early July.
Seoul aims to leverage the talks with commitments to purchase more US liquefied natural gas (LNG) and offer support in shipbuilding, a sector in which South Korea is a leader, after China.
Earlier Friday, Greer met Chung Ki-sun, the vice chairman of HD Hyundai, which owns South Korea’s country’s largest shipbuilding company.
HD Hyundai said in a statement the gathering marked the first time a US trade representative had met an of South Korea’s shipbuilding industry, adding that discussions covered cooperation with US shipmaker Huntington Ingalls Industries.
Greer is also set to meet the CEO of South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean, which provides maintenance, repair and overhaul services for US Navy vessels.
Shares of Hanwha Ocean rose nearly three percent on Friday morning, while HD Hyundai Heavy Industries gained as much as 3.6 percent.
