Conservative conspiracy theorist Alex Jones asked viewers for a donation on Thursday after he was ordered to pay more than $4 million to the parents of a child killed in the Sandy Hook massacre, which he once described as a hoax described, as an economist testifies in court, that he and his company are worth $270 million.
In a video posted to Infowars.com on Thursday, Jones said the amount he had to pay was “more than my company has [and] more than I personally have,” claiming “we’re so broke.”
Jones told viewers it’s their responsibility to keep him and his company afloat, saying in the video, “If you don’t fund us… we’re going to close” and telling them “it’s your choice” whether Infowars closes becomes.
He added that the company’s financial woes “can hardly keep the crew busy,” but his site made over $800,000 a day during its peak in 2017, though Jones called it their best day ever.
Alex Jones released a video urging his viewers to fund him, saying it is their responsibility to keep him and his company afloat, saying in the video, “If you don’t fund us…we will close.” “
Jones admitted during the trial and to the victims’ families that he was wrong to call the mass shooting a hoax and admitted it actually happened, a sentiment he echoed in the video.
But Bernard Pettingill, an economist hired by the plaintiffs to research Jones’ net worth, testified Friday that Jones is worth as much as $270 million. He said records show that Jones withdrew $62 million for himself in 2021 when default judgments were returned in lawsuits against him.
“That number represents net worth in my opinion,” Pettingill said. “He’s got money in a bank account somewhere.”
The money that goes into Jones’ company eventually goes to him, said Pettingill, who added that he testified on about 1,500 cases during his career.
“He’s a very successful man,” Pettingill said, calling Jones a “loner” and a “revolutionary” for finding ways to monetize his online messaging.
However, multiple bankruptcy filings revealed that Jones has benefited about $22 million and received $9 million in cryptocurrency donations over the past 17 months.
Jones may owe even more money as the punitive damages phase of the trial begins today. Other defamation lawsuits are also pending against him.
During the trial, Jones’ principal company, Free Speech Systems, filed for bankruptcy as a small company to protect Jones and the company from oversight that would arise if they were filed as a larger company.
Jones admitted during the trial and to the victims’ families that he was wrong to call the mass shooting a hoax and admitted it actually happened, a sentiment he echoed in the video.
“I admitted I was wrong, I admitted I made a mistake,” Jones said when asking for help. “What I did to these families was wrong, but I didn’t do it on purpose.”
The somber video comes as Jones’ ex-wife, Kelly Nichols, said the controversial media figure was “mentally ill” and needed “protection from herself and others”.
“He has no moral compass. He lives in his own universe. He’s a very delusional man,” she added in an interview with Inside Edition.
Jones was ordered Thursday to pay the parents of Sandy Hook victim Jesse Lewis $4.1 million after claiming the massacre was a hoax and he couldn’t pay anything over $2 million.
“At the end of the day, I don’t have all of these millions of dollars that they say I have, so I’m at peace,” Jones said in the video.
But his ex-wife says otherwise: “I know he hid money. I think he’s got a lot of buckets under a lot of grenades.”
The parents are seeking at least $150 million in compensation for defamation and willful infliction of emotional distress for all the harm and harm his lies have caused them over the course of a decade.
“I’m not attacking, it’s just a fact,” argued Jones (pictured in court on Wednesday) on his show. “It’s just so incredibly sick that I’m going to sit there and give the damn lawyers all the text messages and then they send them to Connecticut.”
“Alex is really mentally ill. To me, he should be protected from himself and others,” said Nichols (pictured). “He has no moral compass. He lives in his own universe. He’s a very delusional man.
Neil Heslin (pictured in court on Tuesday), father of Sandy Hook victim Jesse Lewis, 6, said his family’s life was turned into a “living hell” after Alex Jones spread conspiracy theories about the massacre
Jones’ attorney asked the jury to limit the award to $8 in damages — one dollar for each of the compensatory charges they were considering — and Jones himself said during the trial that any award in excess of $2 million ” would perish.”
In a dramatic revelation in the courtroom, the plaintiff’s attorney, Mark Bankston, told the court on Wednesday that Jones’ attorney had sent him texts from Jones’ cell phone for the past two years.
“Did you know that 12 days ago your lawyers screwed up and sent me a complete digital copy of your entire phone with every text message you’ve sent for the last two years?” Bankston asked during cross-examination.
Jones had previously testified that he could not find any news regarding the school massacre and was shocked when the court was shown a message on screen.
The broadcaster, noticeably appalled and embarrassed by the spate of text messages presented during the court, slammed its lead attorney Andino Reynal, saying he “should have stood up at that point” in the trial and demanded concrete evidence of the alleged perjury to see.
“I’m not attacking, it’s just a fact,” Jones argued on his show. “It’s just so incredibly sick that I sit there and give the damn lawyers all the text messages and then they send them to Connecticut.
He argued that Reynal should have intervened during Bankston’s cross-examination and urged the attorney “to show us the statement” alleging that Jones had committed perjury.
“Bankston dropped me off, three times or four times?” he said. “I’ve been dropped off from Connecticut four times, but I’ve never spoken to them, so I’m in default.”
“They have all this stuff and I searched one of my phones and there wasn’t any Sandy Hook stuff in there.”
He recalled his attorney saying the plaintiff’s legal team accused him of hiding messages, so he turned over all of his old devices to his attorneys and instructed them to “search them and give them to the damn attorneys.”
Jones repeatedly claimed that the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, which killed 20 students and six teachers, was a “hoax” and “staged.”
Scarlett Lewis (left) and Neil Heslin (right) rise as Judge Maya Guerra Gamble begins the third day of the trial Thursday, July 28
Jones has claimed the trial is a way for others to attack his freedom of expression. Pictured: Jones arrived for his libel trial in Texas court on Tuesday with a piece of tape over his mouth that read, “Save the 1st” Amendment
Jones said he turned over the evidence “because I didn’t talk about Sandy Hook, I don’t care about Sandy Hook.”
“We only report if they force us to,” he explained, adding that the mishap shouldn’t have happened in the first place.
“Then I sit there, the last witness in a trial where I’ve already been found guilty by the judge for not turning things over, and my attorneys give them the raw text messages from six months from 2019, early 2020.
“That’s the reality, and then I see a text message from Paul Watson saying, ‘This story sounds like a Sandy Hook bull.’ A story about COVID. How is that even relevant? How is that supposed to lie about something?’
Reynal asked Judge Maya Guerra Gamble to open a jury trial over the mistaken transmission of recordings, saying they should have been returned and all copies destroyed. She declined the request.
Bankston said his team followed Texas civil rules of evidence and that Jones’ attorneys missed their chance to properly request the return of the documents.
‘Mister. Reynal uses a fig leaf (to cover it) for his own wrongdoing,” Bankston said.
He said the documents that were sent to him in error included some medical records of plaintiffs in other lawsuits against Jones.