InfoWars host Alex Jones has been ordered by a judge to start paying $25,000 in fines after failing to appear at a court deposition. Judge Barbara Bellis found Jones in contempt for his absence and set a fine schedule of $25,000 per weekday until he is deposed. 

Jones was supposed to appear at court to face the families of the Sandy Hook school shooting victims. These families filed a defamation lawsuit against Jones for claiming that the shooting was a hoax. 

“Sandy Hook is a synthetic completely fake with actors, in my view, manufactured. I couldn’t believe it at first,” Jones said. “I knew they had actors there, clearly, but I thought they killed some real kids. And it just shows how bold they are, that they clearly used actors. I mean they even ended up using photos of kids killed in mass shootings here in a fake mass shooting in Turkey or Pakistan. The sky is now the limit.”

As a result of Jones perpetuating this myth, the Sandy Hook families were subjected to further torment. Lenny Pozner — whose son was one of the victims — spoke to Frontline about how his family was forced into hiding because of Jones’ lies. 

“[Jones] accused [my son Noah’s mother] of being an actor, faking an interview with Anderson Cooper in front of a green screen. That became one of the cornerstone conspiracy points for Sandy Hook,” Pozner said.

Pozner was forced to change his address and hide his identity to no avail. He continued to receive threatening messages and one instance led to his tormentor facing a 5-month prison sentence. 

Per the Washington Post, “Lucy Richards, 57, pleaded guilty to one count of transmitting threats through interstate communications, admitting that she sent the parent [Pozner] a message reading, ‘LOOK BEHIND YOU IT IS DEATH,’ court documents show.”

Richards was an “avid follower of Jones and InfoWars” according to Frontline. 

Jones has tried to settle with the Sandy Hook families to no avail. According to The Guardian, Jones offered to pay 120,000 per plaintiff but this offer was rejected. 

“Lawyers for the families rejected the settlement offer within a few hours, saying in court filings that it was a ‘transparent and desperate attempt by Alex Jones 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.’

Jones cited poor health as the reason why he failed to show up for his deposition, but according to NBC, “Lawyers for the plaintiffs said he defied doctors’ orders by appearing on his show March 21-23.”

It appears that Jones is running out of time for excuses. The Sandy Hook families and Judge Bellis have heard enough. 

Pozner told Frontline, “I simply had enough. And that was what needed to be done. I’m proud of bringing the lawsuit, [it] brought a lot more attention to who he really is, and what his show represents.”