Alex Jones to pay Sandy Hook victims' families almost £1bn for saying shooting was hoax

dailystar.co.uk:

£870million ($965million) settlement comes as a court ruled Jones' controversial statements regarding the shootings at Sandy Hook school following the tragic event were defamatory.Families of eight victims as well as an FBI agent who responded to the attack had sought a settlement of £495m ($550m) during the defamation trial.READ MORE: Self-proclaimed 'dictator' seizes American land with kayak navy and cookie dough cashThey alleged that the right-wing radio host and conspiracy theorist's constant barrage of misinformation and fake news had led to a decade's worth of harassment and death threats.A total of 26 children and six adults were killed in the horrific elementary school shooting in December 2012, with Jones continually claiming that the shooting was "staged".His sick claims also alleged that the massacre was a government plot to take guns from Americans in what conspiracy nut Jones described as a massacre where "no one died".Since then, the prominent conspiracy theorist has provided a U-turn on his statements, admitting earlier this year in August that the shooting was "100% real".Following a three-week trial, attorney Chris Mattei closed his argument, saying: "When every single one of these families were drowning in grief, Alex Jones put his foot right on top of them."Jones had slammed the trial for being run by a "tyrant" judge and argued he was not to be blamed for the actions of those who tuned into his show.He added at the time: "I've already said I'm sorry hundreds of times, and I'm done saying I'm sorry."The 48-year-old, who once claimed that toxins put into water sources were "turning the frogs gay", has since been ordered by the courts to pay £870m.Jones has said he will appeal the decision.