HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A Connecticut judge said Wednesday that Infowars host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones will be fined $25,000 to $50,000 per weekday until he appears for a deposition in a lawsuit brought by relatives of victims killed or wounded in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
Jones’ testimony is being sought ahead of a trial to determine how much he should pay in damages to the families for pushing a conspiracy theory that the massacre never happened.
Jones cited a health problem last week when he defied an order by Judge Barbara Bellis to attend a deposition. Bellis said there wasn’t enough evidence that Jones was too ill to attend and found him in contempt of court.
Bellis also ruled that the deposition will now be held at the office of the families’ lawyers in Bridgeport, Connecticut, instead of Texas, where Jones lives.
Jones’ lawyers said he only missed the depositions because of his doctors’ advice and had always planned on attending the proceeding. They said he would next be available for a deposition April 11.
A total of 20 first-graders and six educators were killed in the December 2012 shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. The gunman, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, killed his mother at their Newtown home before the shooting, and killed himself at the school as police arrived, officials said.
The families of eight of the victims and an FBI agent who responded to the school sued Jones, Infowars and others in Connecticut over the hoax conspiracy. Jones has since said he believes the shooting did occur.
The plaintiffs Tuesday rejected an offer from Jones to settle with them for $120,000 each.