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Alex Jones said he may have to plead the Fifth as he is set to testify in Sandy Hook trial

Sep 28, 2022, 20:22 IST
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Alex Jones speaks to the media outside the courthouse, in Waterbury, Conn., Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022.Associated Press
  • Alex Jones is set to testify in his damages trial for claims the Sandy Hook shooting was a hoax.
  • On his way into court, Jones said Thursday that he may have to plead the Fifth.
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Alex Jones told reporters he may invoke the Fifth Amendment as he headed into a Connecticut court Thursday where he was expected to testify in a trial over how much in damages he must pay Sandy Hook families.

"I'm probably going to have to take the Fifth, not because I've done anything wrong but because she's saying she'll fine me or put me in jail if I answer these questions truthfully. It's a trap,'" Jones said before entering court.

The trial will determine how much Jones must pay the families of victims who died in the 2012 shooting and who he was previously found liable of defaming by theorizing that the massacre was a "hoax."

Twenty first-graders and six adults were killed in the school shooting.

This is the second of what's expected to be a four to six-week long trial, involving 15 plaintiffs — most of whom were parents of the victims.

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On Wednesday, family members testified about the ongoing harassment they faced because of Jones' "hoax" claims, which included the falsehood that they were actually actors working with the government.

Jones told reporters Thursdays that he is "between a rock and a hard place" and said "since when is someone not allowed to say they're innocent."

He was referring to the fact that since he was found liable in the defamation case, he is not allowed to now proclaim his innocence.

The default judgment came after Jones refused to turn over records during the discovery process.

Court opened Thursday with Judge Barbara Bellis canvassing Jones on what he is and is not allowed to say, including that he is not allowed to talk about the fact that he is challenging the default ruling.

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The first of three damages trials wrapped up in August, with an Austin, Texas, jury ordering Jones to pay the parents of 6-year-old Sandy Hook victim Jesse Lewis nearly $50 million in damages. A third trial back in Texas is pending from Leonard Pozner and Veronique de la Rosa, the parents of victim Noah Pozner.

Jones skipped the first week of his Connecticut trial but arrived in town for the second week. On Tuesday and Wednesday, he showed up to court and gave press conferences to the media but was not called to testify. In his speeches, he branded Bellis a "tyrant."

"I was not wrong about Sandy Hook on purpose. I questioned it…There have been a lot of staged events in history, like WMDs in Iraq, and I questioned every major event that we see," Jones said Tuesday.

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