The Austin American-Statesman reports that The parents of a 6-year-old victim of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting, who were finally given the chance to confront conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, described a “living hell” of death threats, harassment, and ongoing trauma caused by Jones using his media platforms to push claims that it was all a hoax.
The court chastised the bombastic Jones for not being accurate with part of what he stated under oath after the parents led a day of emotional testimony.
On the penultimate day of testimony in the two-week defamation damages trial against Jones and his media business Free Speech Systems, Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, whose son Jesse was killed at Sandy Hook, testified. At least $150 million in damages are being sought.
Lewis had an engrossing conversation with Jones, who was only about 10 feet away. Heslin is “slow” and being used by wicked people, Jones claimed on his radio show earlier in the day.
To begin, let me say that “I am a mother first and foremost and I know you are a father. My son existed,” Lewis said to Jones. “I am not deep state… I know you know that… And yet you’re going to leave this courthouse and say it again on your show.” At one point, Lewis asked Jones: “Do you think I’m an actor?”
Jones said, “No, I don’t think you’re an actor,” before the court cautioned him to keep silent until called to testify.
Lewis kept trying to persuade Jones that the Sandy Hook shooting and the ensuing adversity had occurred.
“It seems so incredible to me that we have to do this — that we have to implore you, to punish you — to get you to stop lying,” Lewis said. “I am so glad this day is here. I’m actually relieved. And grateful… that I got to say all this to you.” While Scarlett Lewis was speaking to him, Jones shook his head a few times.
They are among a growing number of Sandy Hook families who have taken legal action against Jones and his supporters, accusing them of years of abuse because of their belief in the Sandy Hook hoax conspiracy.
Both Heslin and Lewis reported feeling threatened by strangers, both at home and out and about. Heslin said that his house and automobile had been targeted. Another Sandy Hook family received a death threat via telephone voicemail, which was played for the jury.
“I can’t even describe the last nine and a half years, the living hell that I and others have had to endure because of the recklessness and negligence of Alex Jones,” Heslin said.
Scarlett Lewis also claimed to have received threatening emails that appeared to reveal personal information about her.
Scarlett Lewis explained,“It’s fear for your life,”
It’s not known If the Sandy Hook hoax conspiracy theory originated with Jones, Heslin said, but Jones “lit the match and kindled the fire” with an online platform and broadcast that reached millions of people across the world.
“What was said about me and Sandy Hook itself resonates around the world,” Heslin said. “As time went on, I truly realized how dangerous it was.”
When Jones was on his show, he ignored Heslin’s morning testimony, dismissing it as “cowardly,” but showed up for part of Scarlett Lewis’ evidence. Several private security personnel were with him at all times.
“Today is very important to me and it’s been a long time coming… to face Alex Jones for what he said and did to me. To restore the honor and legacy of my son,” Heslin said when Jones wasn’t there.
During the trial, Heslin described to the jury how he held his kid, who had a bullet hole in his skull, and how much harm he had done to his son’s body. A 2017 Infowars program, which claimed Heslin didn’t hold his son, is an important part of the case.
The jurors saw a picture of a happy Jesse taken two weeks before to his death in a school photo. After the shoot, the picture was delivered to the parents. According to the narrator, Jesse was notorious for urging his students to “run!” which may have saved them.
The parents argued that an apology from Jones would not be enough.
“Alex started this fight, and I’ll finish this fight,”
It wasn’t until Jones took the witness stand that the judge asked him to respond to a question from his own attorney. Jones said in court that he’d been meaning to apologize to the plaintiffs for some time.
“I never intentionally tried to hurt you. I never said your name until this came to court,” Jones said. “The internet had questions, I had questions.”
Judge then escorted them out and chastised Jones for lying to the jury about his cooperation with pretrial evidence collecting, which he had not done, and for falsely claiming to be bankrupt, both of which were untrue. They were outraged when Jones mentioned that he was bankrupt, fearing that it would influence a jury’s judgment about damages.
The judge said, “This is not your show,” Judge Maya Guerra Gamble told Jones. “Your beliefs do not make something true. You are under oath.”
Guerra reprimanded Jones in her default judgment in September for his refusal to provide the Sandy Hook families with requested papers. For the same grounds, another Sandy Hook parent’s claim against Jones was dismissed by the same court in Connecticut.
A forensic psychologist who looked into the cases of Heslin and Lewis and spoke with them on Monday testified that both men suffer from a form of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) brought on by repeated trauma, like soldiers in war zones or child abuse victims do.
Jones argues that the case is an infringement of his First Amendment rights because it was filed in the first place.
On the line is how much money Jones will have to pay. If the jury decides in favor of the parents, they want $150 million in damages for defamation and emotional suffering. When the case goes to trial, the jury will decide if Jones and his corporation should be held liable for additional damages.
Jones has a slew of trials ahead of him.
As far as defamation goes, courts in both Texas and Connecticut have already ruled that Jones is accountable for his claim that there was no shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Due to Jones’ failure to comply with court orders and turn over documents, judges in both jurisdictions handed him a default judgment.
To date, Jones has attempted to financially shield Free Speech Systems from harm. Last Monday, the corporation applied for bankruptcy protection with the United States Bankruptcy Court. Sandy Hook relatives have filed separate lawsuits against Jones over his financial claims, alleging that the business is trying to preserve millions owned by Jones and his family through shell entities.
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ISTHATPORKS TAKE:
The World has to be quicker and better at ridding itself of people like Mr. Jones. Mr. Jones is the type of Black-Hole that shoots across the sky and disrupts every human star in its path. He disrupts it in subtle ways, and big ways, Jan 6th ways, and unseen ways. If a problem is what you don't discover when you see him, then something is wrong with you. He is PORK PERSONIFIED! and he deserves every PORK that he created COME BACK to where it came from. HIS ATOM, HIM! Now that's how a Cipher is supposed to go.
Dozens of unresponsive victims requiring CPR at what appeared to have been a large gathering in South Korea on Saturday have raised death toll estimates to several.
Pictures and videos of dozens of people lying on the streets of the trendy Seoul area of Itaewon are currently making the rounds online, with many of them receiving chest compressions from passersby and emergency personnel.
It's clear from the reaction that the scenario is extremely chaotic, and the visuals are unsettling because many of the people in them don't appear to be conscious.
Ground reports indicate that over a hundred people were hurt, with many reportedly suffering cardiac arrest. Photos show police placing tarps over what appear to be dead bodies, suggesting a high death toll, although the New York Times reports only 2 confirmed deaths.
truly the scariest halloween of my life—30 down, 400 rescue workers deployed. please avoid itaewon and stay safe. #이태원사고pic.twitter.com/PC1GBJt7qk
There are so many people here because this is one of the largest Halloween parties in Seoul; word is that tens of thousands of people have crammed into the narrow alleys, which may have caused the stampede.
It has been speculated, but not proven, that the crush occurred when a celebrity was spotted in Itaewon and everyone rushed to the scene's only bar to catch a glimpse of them.
Yoon Suk Yeol, president of South Korea, has already sent emergency services to the city of Seoul, and the mayor is returning from an overseas trip to assess the damage and receive a briefing.
In Buffalo, New York, four adolescents were killed in a car incident early Monday.
Marcus Webster (19), Swazine Swindle (17), Kevin Payne (16), and Ahjanae Harper (14), according to the New York Post.
Kia, the destroyed vehicle, was reported stolen on Sunday night, according to Buffalo police. Police think the youngsters took the vehicle to take part in “The Kia Challenge,” a viral challenge on the video-sharing platform TikTok in which users are shown how to hot-wire a Kia, a South Korean automobile, using only a screwdriver and a USB connection.
According to WIVB, “five of the six occupants, were ejected.”
The unidentified 16-year-old driver of the stolen vehicle was reportedly one of two people who survived the crash and received treatment at Erie County Medical Center. According to the source, the driver has been arrested and charged with criminal possession of stolen property and illegal use of a vehicle.
While he awaits his court date today (Friday, October 28), police have freed him on bond.
A 14-year-old girl was the other lucky survivor; she was taken to the hospital and treated in intensive care before being released.
Having recently received a newborn girl on what would have been Harper’s 15th birthday, her family has started a GoFundMe to raise $15,000.
A resident of the area said of her in a TIKTOK video, “SHE WAS A YOUNG MOTHER,
Nashira Anderson, Swindle’s sister, said her sibling’s favorite activities included basketball and jokes.
Webster will be remembered by his family and friends as a dedicated worker who struggled to keep up with both employment and school.
The Buffalo Public School District said, “We certainly send our deepest condolences and sympathies to all the families and everyone impacted by this unfortunate and horrific tragedy,”
WGRZ reports that Kia issued a statement on the matter on Thursday.
California, STOCKTON — Suspect in the shooting deaths of six men and the injury of a woman in Northern California was apprehended early Saturday morning as he drove around Stockton with a revolver, authorities said.
Five of the shootings took occurred in this city in the Central Valley, and police began following leads on the culprit around 2 a.m., according to Police Chief Stanley McFadden’s press conference.
Stockton resident Wesley Brownlee, 43, “was out hunting,” according to McFadden. Brownlee wore a mask and all black clothing.
He then stated, “We are sure we stopped another killing.”
For some time, it was unclear if Brownlee was represented by counsel. On Tuesday, he is scheduled to be formally charged with murder.
The black and gray weapon the guy was reportedly carrying was seen on police camera. A semiautomatic handgun made of what looked like plastic and rubber.
Between July 8 and September 27, five men were ambushed and shot dead in Stockton, and police had been seeking for a man in black who had been seen at multiple murder scenes. A car was parked, and four people were walking.
A man was killed in Oakland, 70 miles distant, in April 2021, and a week later, a homeless lady was injured in Stockton; police suspect the same individual was responsible for both attacks.
Ballistics testing and surveillance footage, according to investigators, proved the crimes were related.
A moment of silence was observed at the press conference in honor of the victims.
On April 10, 2021, Juan Vasquez Serrano, 39, was shot and murdered in Oakland; on April 16, 2021, Natasha LaTour, 46, was shot but survived in Stockton. Five men were slain in Stockton this year: 35-year-old Paul Yaw on July 8; 43-year-old Salvador Debudey Jr. on August 11; 21-year-old Jonathan Hernandez Rodriguez on August 30; 52-year-old Juan Cruz on September 21; and 54-year-old Lawrence Lopez Sr. on September 27.
Brownlee has a criminal background, according to the police, and he is thought to have lived in other places in the Stockton area.
Hundreds of leads poured in when authorities announced the manhunt, and investigators were able to track down and keep a close eye on Brownlee’s residence.
With the help of information from the public and Stockton Crime Stoppers, police were able to narrow in on a likely culprit, as McFadden explained. “Our agents kept tabs on him as he drove around. We observed his behavior and realized he was on a killing spree first thing this morning.”
McFadden further mentioned that Brownlee was held because he had been seen going to parks and other dimly lit areas, stopping to look around, and then continuing on.
They were looking into the attacks to see if they could determine a reason for them. The police reported that some of the victims were homeless but not all. No one was hurt, and the one woman who made it out alive claimed her attacker was silent.
The police chief acknowledged the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Marshals Service, and the United States Drug Enforcement Administration.
Investigators in the area have teamed up with their counterparts in Chicago to look into the possibility of a connection between these slayings and two homicides that occurred in Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood in 2018. A man in black with a peculiar walk was spotted on surveillance footage, according to the authorities.