Was the Sandy Hook Shooting a Hoax?
Alex Jones Found Liable for Saying it Was
November 2022 - For some reason, the conspiracy-loving members of the political far right decided many years ago to believe and/or promote a story that the 2012 shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, was all a hoax. The 20 dead children and 6 dead educators were just actors who got up and walked away once the cameras were gone. The whole thing was just a setup, part of a nefarious plot to take away our guns.
So say the conspiracy believers. Of course, if what they believe were true, we guess these folks also would have us believe the following:
- The first responders who showed up at the scene are all liars
- The official police reports of the incident are lies
- The 26 death certificates aren't true
- The funeral homes were all in on it
- The clergy who presided over the funerals were duped
- The life insurance companies who paid out death benefits were incompetent
- The perpetrator either did not shoot up the school before killing himself or he did shoot up the school but miraculously never hit anyone
- The graves of the deceased are all empty because every one of the "allegedly" murdered children and teachers, all of whom lived in the immediate area, just left town for some unexplained reason, leaving the rest of their families behind
Pretty unlikely, isn't it?
 (Newtown funeral image from Connecticut Post)
Unfortunately, the people who belief such conspiracy stories also are easy pickings for scam artists and political opportunists who will agree with you on just about anything you say in order to get your money and/or your vote. Although we're not sure which category he falls into, one of those seemingly willing to take advantage of the conspiracy believers was a radio talk show host and right-wing blogger named Alex Jones. Over the past decade, it has been well-reported that Mr. Jones has become a millionaire many times over by playing to the far right conspiracy fringe and separating those folks from their hard-earned dollars.
When it came to the Sandy Hook story, Mr. Jones repeatedly told his audience that the shootings were a hoax, claiming at various times that the shootings were staged by the government so they could take our guns and start a civil war, that the shooting was completely false, that the grieving parents were crisis actors or people acting as victims of a tragic event to sway public opinion, etc.
Unfortunately, these lies of Mr. Jones led some of his listeners/readers to harass the victims' families and to harass members of law enforcement who investigated the case. This harassment included physical confrontations, threatening violence (including rape and death), driving past homes firing guns, and sending photos of dead children.
 (Alex Jones image from NY Post)
After almost a decade of putting up with these never-ending threats and harassment, eight families of the victims, plus one law enforcement officer, finally had had enough and decided to sue Mr. Jones for damaging their reputation and for emotional distress. The suit was filed in Austin, Texas, (where Mr. Jones' business headquarters is located) and asked for damages of $150 million.
Earlier this year a jury found Mr. Jones guilty of defaming the plaintiffs with his Sandy Hook lies and last month the jury awarded the plaintiffs a total judgement of $980 million in damages, part of it for defamation and part of it for suffering years of emotional distress.
Mr. Jones now acknowledges his conspiracy theories surrounding the shootings were not true, but he is quick to add that he should not be blamed for the actions of the people who believed his lies and who harassed the families.
Like the jury, we disagree. Spreading lies for years that led people to engage in harassment and to threaten potential violence (all for the purpose of making money?) does not leave you as just an innocent bystander.
See more lies exposed in our article 'Right Wing Myth-Busting'
| 
