Austin’s Alex Jones Still Faces Over $1 Billion in Sandy Hook Damages After Texas Ruling

Texas appeals decision cuts punitive damages but leaves defamation finding intact

AUSTIN, Texas — Conspiracy broadcaster Alex Jones remains responsible for more than $1 billion in damages tied to his false claims about the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, even after a Texas appeals court sharply reduced part of a nearly $50 million verdict against him.

The state appeals court ruled Friday that the punitive-damages portion of the Texas award exceeded limits set by state law. The decision reduced that portion from more than $40 million to about $1.5 million, leaving roughly $6 million in damages still owed in the Texas case.

The ruling does not erase the jury’s conclusion that Jones defamed Sandy Hook families and inflicted emotional distress through years of broadcasts claiming the massacre was staged by “crisis actors” to advance gun-control policies. Jones has acknowledged under oath that the shooting occurred.

Relatives of victims testified that Jones’ followers sent death and rape threats, confronted them in person and targeted them with abusive messages online after he promoted the falsehoods. Twenty first graders and six educators were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, on Dec. 14, 2012.

Jones portrayed the Texas ruling as a free-speech victory and said he would continue fighting the judgments. “I got lawyers who are good constitutional lawyers, and they are not backing down,” Jones said.

But the decision affects only a limited part of the litigation against the Austin-based Infowars founder. Mark Bankston, an attorney representing the families in Texas, said the appellate ruling concerns only two of the 19 claims shared by the plaintiffs and does not meaningfully alter Jones’ overall financial exposure.

“Jones still faces over a billion dollars of liability, so this changes absolutely nothing,” Bankston said, criticizing Texas’ statutory cap on punitive damages.

Connecticut judgment remains the far larger obstacle

Jones’ largest legal obligation stems from a separate Connecticut case, where families won a damages judgment that initially exceeded $1.4 billion. The total was reduced by about $150 million during appeals, leaving Jones liable for approximately $1.25 billion. His attempt to have the U.S. Supreme Court review that judgment was denied last year.

The Texas decision also has no effect on the Connecticut case, according to the families’ attorneys. Court appeals and bankruptcy proceedings have prevented the families from collecting money so far.

Jones and his company, Free Speech Systems, filed for bankruptcy in 2022 as the Sandy Hook judgments mounted. The bankruptcy process ultimately forced Jones to surrender control of the Infowars platform, where he had built an audience over decades by promoting conspiracy theories about events including the Oklahoma City bombing and the Sept. 11 attacks.

Jones began broadcasting from Austin after being fired from a local radio station in the mid-1990s and launched Infowars from his home. The operation grew from a small office with two employees in 2004 into a company with dozens of workers, multiple Austin studios and a warehouse supporting merchandise sales.

Although Infowars went off the air in April, Jones continues to broadcast through other websites, social-media accounts and streaming services. He also continues selling products, including supplements and clothing, that generate millions of dollars annually.

The satirical outlet The Onion has sought to take over Infowars intellectual property and convert the former conspiracy platform into a parody operation. A proposed licensing agreement remains on hold while Jones pursues appeals, though The Onion has already created an Infowars parody page and sells merchandise that directs some proceeds to Sandy Hook families.

The latest Texas decision is available through the Texas Judicial Branch system, but the core defamation finding against Jones remains in place. His bankruptcy and appeals proceedings are continuing, and the Sandy Hook families have not yet collected on the judgments.