Infowars host Alex Jones has turned to the U.S. Supreme Court, asking it to halt enforcement of a Connecticut court’s $1 billion judgment awarded to the families of Sandy Hook Elementary School victims. The conspiracy theorist said he believes the nation’s highest court will overturn the decision that has financially crippled him and his media company, Free Speech Systems.
Jones’ move follows the Connecticut Supreme Court’s rejection of a similar request. The case stems from a default judgment entered against him after repeated discovery violations. An appellate court later reduced the award by $150 million, trimming it from $1.44 billion to roughly $1.29 billion.
“No Deference” to State Court, Jones Argues
In his Oct. 7 filing, Jones told the Supreme Court that “no deference to the Connecticut judicial proceeding should be afforded,” claiming the trial process ignored fundamental First Amendment protections. He said he expects a majority of the justices to grant his appeal, even calling it “mandatory” under prior precedent.
Jones argued that the Connecticut courts treated unproven allegations as facts, instructing jurors to assume his statements about Sandy Hook were false and malicious. He cited New York Times Co. v. Sullivan (1964) to claim the judgment violated the high bar for proving “actual malice” in defamation cases.
