Lawyer seeks judgement without a trial for Alex Jones in Sandy Hook case

A lawyer is seeking judgement without a trial for Alex Jones after he claimed that the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012 was fake.

Houston attorney Mark Bankston, who represents the parents of some of the 20 children who were killed in 2012, filed a motion at the Travis County Courthouse asking the judge to hold Jones and the media outlet Infowars liable without a trial. A jury would only be used to figure out how much the damages should be, the Austin American-Statesman reported.

Bankston said in the filing obtained by The Hill that the defendants did not appear to take the case seriously in their depositions last month. He told The Hill he had no additional comments.

“Defendants have been given ample opportunity to take these lawsuits seriously and obey the rule of law,” the filing said. “Yet despite a rotating cast of counsel, Defendants have remained stubborn in their refusal to respect the integrity of the proceedings.”

Jones’s deposition lasted three hours, and he reportedly responded to questions about his sources that the shooting was a coverup “I don’t remember” 44 times and “I don’t know” 51 times, according to the Statesman. Rob Dew, Infowars news director, also gave his deposition. 

Jones’s lawyer, T. Wade Jefferies, told The Hill in a statement that his client’s statements are protected by the First Amendment.

“I do not agree with the blanket statement that my clients have engaged in ‘repeated flagrant discovery abuse, intentional spoliation of critical evidence, and bad faith dilatory tactics,’ ” he said. “My Response to Plaintiff’s Motion will address those allegations.”

District Judge Scott Jenkins will hear from both sides on a motion to dismiss scheduled for Wednesday, the newspaper reported. The motion filed by Jones claims the suit should be dismissed because of the intentional infliction of emotional distress brought by the Sandy Hook parents.