AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones wants a Texas judge to dismiss a defamation lawsuit filed against him by families of some of the children killed in the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
A hearing Wednesday in Austin is the first of two this week involving the “Infowars” host. He was sued after repeatedly claiming on his Austin-based show that the Connecticut shooting was a hoax. The shooting killed 20 children and six adults.
Jones now admits the shooting occurred but says his claims were free speech.
A similar lawsuit was filed in Connecticut. He’s also being sued by a man falsely identified on the Infowars website as the gunman who killed 17 people at a Florida high school in February.
Jones’ profile has spread from the far-right fringe in recent years. While running for president in 2015, Donald Trump told Jones his reputation was “amazing.”
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