Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones is liable for damages in a lawsuit brought by families of Sandy Hook shooting victims after he falsely claimed the attack was a hoax, a Connecticut judge ruled Monday.
Why it matters: This is Jones' latest defeat in defamation lawsuits related to his conspiracy theories about the 2012 mass shooting.
Driving the news: Judge Barbara Bellis ruled that Jones was liable by default for failing to "produce critical material information that the plaintiffs needed to prove their claims," AP reports.
- Lawyers for the Sandy Hook families had requested internal documents that would show if Jones had profited from talking about the school shooting and other mass shootings, per AP.
- Last month, a Texas judge issued a similar ruling in three defamation lawsuits stemming from Jones' unsubstantiated conspiracy theories.
What they're saying: "Their pattern of defying and ignoring court orders to produce responsive information is well established," lawyers for the family wrote in a court brief obtained by AP.
Flashback: After the shooting killed 26 people, 20 of whom were young children, Jones caught backlash as he began to call the shooting a "false flag" operation planned by "crisis actors," Axios' Shawna Chen writes.
What to watch: Bellis ordered a hearing to determine how much Jones should pay the families in damages.
