- Infowars founder and host
Alex Jones was held in contempt of court on Wednesday. - Jones failed to appear for depositions, but his lawyers said it was due to medical reasons.
InfoWars founder and far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones was held in contempt of court on Wednesday in a
The families sued Jones in 2018 over his baseless claims that the shooting — which killed six adults and 20 first-graders in Newtown, Connecticut — was a hoax and that the parents of the dead children were involved in covering up the truth.
Lawyers for the families had asked the court last week to hold Jones in contempt after he did not attend depositions scheduled for March 23-24 that he was ordered by the court to attend.
"He is so afraid of being deposed in this case that he refused to attend his own deposition, even after the Court ordered him to do so," the lawyers wrote of Jones, according to court documents.
Lawyers for Jones told the court he was unable to attend the depositions due to medical reasons, citing a recommendation from Jones's doctor that he avoid stress.
But during a virtual hearing on Wednesday, Connecticut Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis held Jones in contempt over what she called a "willful" violation of her orders, the Hartford Courant reported.
She issued a $25,000 per weekday fine to start on Friday and continue until Jones sits for two days of depositions in Connecticut, the Connecticut Law Tribune reported. The fine will increase until Jones sits for the deposition, at which time Bellis said the contempt order could be purged.
In a statement provided to Insider, lawyers for Jones said the order was "shocking and an insult to the medical doctor who advised Alex not to attend court proceedings."
"I certainly won't advise Mr. Jones to consult the judge for future medical treatment," the statement said, adding: "We regard the order as lawless and unprecedented and will seek immediate review."
Last week when Bellis refused to excuse Jones from missing his deposition, she noted he was healthy enough to appear on his show in the days prior.
Lawyers for the families did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
The order came after the families refused a settlement proposal from Jones, who on Tuesday had offered to pay each of the 13 plaintiffs $120,000.
The families rejected the offer, saying Jones was trying to "escape a public reckoning under oath with his deceitful, profit-driven campaign against the plaintiffs and the memory of their loved ones lost at Sandy Hook."
In November, Bellis found Jones liable for damages in the case after he refused a court order to turn over documents, though the amount he will have to pay will be determined at trial. His depositions are being sought ahead of that trial, which is set to occur later this year.
Jones also lost separate defamation lawsuits last year that were brought against him in Texas by families of Sandy Hook victims.