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Alex Jones' lawyer – the one who accidentally leaked revealing texts – said Sandy Hook parents deserve just $8 in damages

Aug 5, 2022, 01:14 IST
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Alex Jones' attorney F. Andino Reynal in court during Jones' defamation damages trial in Texas.Briana Sanchez/Austin American-Statesman via AP, Pool
  • Alex Jones's legal team is hoping that a jury awards Sandy Hook parents the lowest possible amount.
  • An attorney for Jones said that the parents deserve a total of eight dollars for their pain.
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As the defense unraveled on the final day of Alex Jones' defamation trial, the Infowars host's attorney offered contradictions and a measly offering to the parents of a Sandy Hook shooting victim: eight dollars.

The amount of money was revealed by Jones' attorney Federico Reynal as attorneys offered their closing arguments in the case, asking jurors to consider specific amounts of money that the family of the shooting victim should be awarded in defamation and emotional distress damages they are seeking.

Meanwhile, Kyle Farrar, an attorney who represented the Sandy Hook victim's parents, maintained that the two parents deserved $150 million total in damages due to the conspiracy campaign that Jones led on his network Infowars, calling the shooting that left 26 dead a "hoax," and the victims, "crisis actors."

Reynal was adamant on Wednesday that the families deserved the lowest possible amount of damages, which was a total of eight dollars.

"Alex Jones ran with a story and made a mistake," Reynal told the court. "Maybe I would even understand if you said we feel you should give them some money for mental health — but I don't think it's supported by the evidence."

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During the trial, Jones testified that any damages awarded over $2 million would "bankrupt" his channel. And in perhaps the most bombastic moment of the trial, Mark Bankston, another Sandy Hook lawyer, told Jones that his attorney had leaked damning phone data to their team.

"Your attorneys messed up and sent me an entire digital copy of your entire cell phone with every text message you sent for the past two years," Bankston told Jones. "That is how I know you lied to me when you said you didn't have text messages about Sandy Hook."

Jones, who had already been found liable for defamation by the Texas court and a court in Connecticut for his depiction of the shooting, testified on Wednesday that he believes the mass shooting was "100% real." On Thursday, jurors will begin their deliberations.

Reynal later contradicted himself as he said that Jones's platform "isn't that big," and that mainstream media amplified his "mistake."

But in his closing, Reynal made a plea to jurors about alleged threats to media freedom.

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"Alex Jones might not be to your particular taste — but millions of Americans tune in to be informed, entertained, to have their voices heard," he said, up-sizing the impact of Jones's platform.

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