- Title: Sandy Hook families celebrate verdict 'for common decency and humanity'
- Date: 12th October 2022
- Summary: WATERBURY, CONNECTICUT, UNITED STATES (OCTOBER 12, 2022) (UNRESTRICTED POOL) ATTORNEYS AND SANDY HOOK FAMILIES APPROACHING MICROPHONES FOR NEWS CONFERENCE WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (English) FATHER OF SANDY HOOK VICTIM, ROBBIE PARKER, SAYING: “I couldn't be more proud to stand here and with all of these people and I really miss my wife and daughter right now. They can't be here with me but our lawyers helped give me the strength to finally find my voice and to fight and to stand up to what had been happening to me for so long. And for how I let my voice be taken away from me and my power be taken away from me at the expense of my daughter and at the expense of my family.†WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (English) FATHER OF SANDY HOOK VICTIM, ROBBIE PARKER, SAYING: “And honestly, for anybody that still chooses to listen to that man, just ask yourself, what is he ever given you and compare that to whatever it is that he's taken from you. Do you still have your family members with you? Do they still believe in you and trust you? What have you ever gotten from him?†WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (English) DAUGHTER OF SANDY HOOK PRINCIPAL, ERICA LAFFERTY-GARBATINI, SAYING: “I'm incredibly proud and thankful for the message that was sent here today: The truth matters in those who profit off of other people's pain and trauma will pay for what they have done. There will be more Alex Jones’ is in this world, but what they learned here today is that they absolutely will be held accountable.†WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (English) HUSBAND OF SANDY HOOK VICTIM, BILL SHERLACH, SAYING: “And from a personal standpoint, what it does to me is it shows that the Internet is not the wild, wild West and that your actions have consequences. And for someone to stand in front of a camera, probably right now as we're speaking, to spew the lies, to enrich themselves, well, now there's a cost-benefit analysis that will have to be done because we've sent a response. We put a dose of civility into the society that we really need at this point in time.†WHTE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (English) HUSBAND OF SANDY HOOK VICTIM, BILL SHERLACH, SAYING: “People like Alex Jones will have to rethink what they say, how they say it, how long they say it. And for those who want to be Alex Jones wannabes, this trial, this verdict set a pretty high hurdle in terms of what the cost would be to them to enter into that realm of lies and deceit.†WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (English) ATTORNEY FOR THE PLAINTIFFS, JOSH KOSKOFF, SAYING: “This jury has taken back for all of us, something we've been hemorrhaging over the last decades, which is core decency and humanity. The failure to be able to hear each other, or listen to each other, and the gullibility of believing that people are bad people or good people, the maligning of people, the maligning of these families. This is an incredibly restorative moment I think. The jury's verdict is a verdict for common decency and humanity.†WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (English) ATTORNEY FOR THE PLAINTIFFS, JOSH KOSKOFF, SAYING: “And if this verdict shuts down, Alex Jones, good. Does Alex Jones have a legitimate business going? Since 9/11, he's been, he's been walking the shadow of death to try to profit from the backs of people who have just been devastated and uprooted. That is not a business model that should be sustainable in the United States of America.†WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (English) LEAD ATTORNEY FOR THE PLAINTIFFS, CHIRS MATTIE, SAYING: “Today, a jury representing our community and our nation rendered a historic verdict, a verdict against Alex Jones, his lies and their poisonous spread and a verdict for truth and for our common humanity.†WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE) (English) LEAD ATTORNEY FOR THE PLAINTIFFS, CHIRS MATTIE, SAYING: "One of the things that Alex Jones tried to do throughout this case was to hide his assets, to conceal from the court, from the jury the true extent of his profits here. But we're going to find out, you know, one of the things that the bankruptcy court allows, and the action we brought in Texas to go after his fraudulent transfer of assets, is a lot of scrutiny on what assets he has, what he's transferred and what is available. And so whatever is available, you can rest assured that we, as representatives of these families and the other families who have brought cases, will be coordinating to make sure that that those assets are available for recovery to the victims of his offenses.†WHITE FLASH ATTORNEYS AND SANDY HOOK FAMILIES ENDING NEWS CONFERENCE
- Embargoed: 26th October 2022 22:13
- Keywords: Alex Jones Chirs Mattie Sandy Hook Waterbury hoax claims trial
- Location: WATERBURY, CONNECTICUT, UNITED STATES
- City: WATERBURY, CONNECTICUT, UNITED STATES
- Country: US
- Topics: Crime/Law/Justice,Judicial Process/Court Cases/Court Decisions,United States
- Reuters ID: LVA001187112102022RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:After a jury determined right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones must pay at least $965 million in damages, the families of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook mass shooting celebrated the verdict on Wednesday (October 12).
The verdict, which came after three weeks of testimony in a state court in Waterbury, Connecticut, far outstripped the $49 million Jones was ordered to pay by a Texas jury in a similar case in August.
The plaintiffs were relatives of 20 children and six staff members who were gunned down at Sandy Hook Elementary School in December 2012. Jones claimed for years that the massacre was staged as part of a government plot to take away Americans' guns.
Jurors said the plaintiffs should also be awarded attorney's fees, which are set to be determined in November.
During a live broadcast as the verdict was read, Jones vowed to appeal and said his company's ongoing bankruptcy will protect Infowars in the meantime.
Lawyers for families of eight Sandy Hook victims during closing arguments in Connecticut last week said Jones cashed in for years on lies about the shooting, which drove traffic to his Infowars website and boosted sales of its various products.
The families, meanwhile, suffered a decade-long campaign of harassment and death threats by Jones’ followers, attorney Chris Mattei said.
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