Supreme Court Affirms Defamation Ruling Against Alex Jones Over Sandy Hook Claims

Wed Oct 15 2025 02:21:30 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

The US Supreme Court has rejected Alex Jones's appeal against a nearly $1.5 billion defamation judgment related to his Sandy Hook tragedy remarks. The ruling upholds accountability for the conspiracy theorist's claims.

In a significant ruling, the US Supreme Court declined to hear Alex Jones's appeal against a $1.5 billion defamation judgment stemming from his claims that the Sandy Hook massacre was a hoax. This decision follows his earlier defamation findings, where he was accused of causing emotional distress to the families of victims. Jones faces mounting legal and financial pressure as he struggles to fulfill the judgment, while advocates for the victims celebrate this affirmation of justice.

The US Supreme Court has rejected a request from right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones to overturn the nearly $1.5 billion (£1.1bn) defamation judgment against him. Jones was ordered to make this payout in 2022 for claiming that the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, which killed 20 children and six educators, was a hoax.

As part of the judgment's execution, Jones is compelled to sell his Infowars media company to the satirical news site The Onion. In his appeal to the Supreme Court, he argued that the sale would inflict irreparable harm on himself and his audience, which numbers around 30 million.

So far, Jones has not paid any damages due to the Sandy Hook families. The Supreme Court did not elaborate on its rationale for denying his appeal.

Jones’s lawyers argued on free speech grounds, claiming that he deserved protections akin to those of journalists under the First Amendment, warning that the financial burden was excessively punitive.

Chris Mattei, a lawyer representing the Sandy Hook families, remarked that the court rightly dismissed Jones's attempt to evade responsibility for the harm he has inflicted. Mattei looks forward to enforcing the jury's verdict, ensuring that Jones and Infowars are held accountable.

Previously, a bankruptcy judge had rejected The Onion's proposal to acquire Infowars, though the media company may soon be available again for sale, opening another potential opportunity for the satirical site.

The legal pressure around Jones has intensified since he was held liable for defamation and emotional distress resulting from his irresponsible claims regarding the Sandy Hook tragedy. After a jury's ruling in Connecticut, Jones filed for bankruptcy protection in Texas, and Infowars was subsequently listed for auction to compensate the Sandy Hook families who are pursuing the judgment.

During the Texas proceedings, Jones publicly acknowledged the reality of the shooting, contrasting his earlier portrayals that described the massacre as staged orchestrated by the government to advance gun-control agendas.