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WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected conservative conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ last-ditch attempt to block an almost $1.5 billion defamation judgment he faces over false claims that the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting was a hoax.
The court without comment turned away Jones’ appeal of a state court ruling.
In a desperate plea last week, Jones implored the Supreme Court to intervene promptly, warning that without their action, his media outlet, Infowars, faced the imminent threat of being acquired by The Onion, a well-known satirical news site.
This potential acquisition was suggested as a means to facilitate financial restitution to the families of the Sandy Hook victims, who have suffered deeply from the spread of misinformation.
Jones’ lawyers had warned in the filing last week that if the case was not put on hold, “InfoWars will have been acquired by its ideological nemesis and destroyed.”
In December 2012, a gunman killed 20 first-grade children and six adults at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.
After the shooting, Jones on more than one occasion suggested during his online shows that it was a “staged event,” according to court papers.
Families of the victims then sued in Connecticut state court, claiming defamation as well as other state law violations.
Jones, who owns InfoWars through his company Free Speech Systems, subsequently lost attempts in state court to appeal the judgment. He is also seeking bankruptcy protections.
The Onion failed in an earlier attempt to acquire InfoWars through a bankruptcy auction, but Jones’ lawyer said a new attempt is underway in Texas state court.