Alex Jones trial updates: Sandy Hook dad recalls stranger’s vile verbal assault after 4 years of Infowars lies

Alex Jones’s second defamation trial over his “hoax” lies about the Sandy Hook massacre has finished its third week in Connecticut court.

The jury heard emotional testimony from family members after a tense conclusion to the previous week’s proceedings, when the Infowars host delayed his return to the witness box following a rant at reporters outside the courthouse.

His own defence attorneys waived their right to cross-examine him, and he is now expected to resume testimony as a witness for his defence next week.

In his testimony, Jones shouted that he was “done apologising” for his egregious claims about the shooting under questioning from the plaintiffs’ lawyer while families of victims broke down in tears in the courtroom.

On Thursday morning, Sandy Hook father Robbie Parker, who found himself the target of hoax accusations the day after his daughter was murdered, concluded his emotional testimony, recalling a vile verbal assault from a conspiracy theorist, four years after the tragedy. He noted that these occurrences corresponded to when Jones would broadcast his lies.

Key Points

• What’s at stake for Alex Jones in the second Sandy Hook defamation trial?

• Alex Jones defends furious rant in front of crying Sandy Hook families

• Sandy Hook dad recounts harrowing verbal confrontation with Sandy Hook hoaxer

• Sandy Hook father fights tears recalling press event that made him top target for hoax lies

• Sandy Hook mother recalls ‘full-on assault’ of hoax threats in days after shooting

• Jurors must decide how much Newtown families suffering worth

Day 10 of trial begins

Wednesday 28 September 2022 15:09 , Oliver O'Connell

Judge Barbara Bellis is back on the bench and is dealing with housekeeping issues including a filing by the plaintiffs made last night.

That is docket number 1,000 — which is not something you see in many trials, if ever — and concerns whether there would be confusion if someone needs to be named to defamed. This will be addressed at the charge conference before the jury deliberates.

The jury is now being brought in.

Witness: Bill Sherlach

Wednesday 28 September 2022 15:19 , Oliver O'Connell

The first witness of the day is Bill Sherlach. He was the husband of Mary Joy Green Sherlach. She worked as the school psychologist at the elementary school and died trying to defend her students.

Ms Sherlach was in a conference with the Sandy Hook Elementary School principal Dawn Hochsprung, other staff, and the mother of a second-grade student when they heard the staccato sounds of automatic gunfire as the attack commenced.

According to a colleague she and the principal ran towards the sound and confronted the shooter in the hallway, where he gunned them down. Another teacher, Natalie Hammond, was wounded but managed to get back into the conference room and hold the door shut.

Wednesday 28 September 2022 15:43 , Oliver O'Connell

As with other witnesses, Mr Sherlach gives an in-depth, charming, fond recollection of his relationship with Mary, their family, and their professional lives.

On the day of the shooting, he remembers his partner at work telling him something had happened at the elementary school.

He rushed to Sandy Hook and went to the firehouse where people were congregating. A teacher told him that his wife and the school principal had left the meeting room and had not come back, but Ms Hammond had.

Mr Sherlach says he found out that Mary was shot five times, two of which were shots that would’ve been fatal.

Wednesday 28 September 2022 15:49 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Sherlach had never heard of Alex Jones or Infowars before his wife’s death.

“I had no social media presence whatsoever, I’m a dinosaur when it comes to technology.”

He adds that he barely even knew how to use email.

In the aftermath of the shooting, he recalls friends and family coming to be with him, as well as media vans turning up in the town.

Wednesday 28 September 2022 15:54 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Sherlach recalls looking online for news to find out more about what was going on and began to see distortions of what he knew to be true from firsthand experience.

He describes “stumbling into” the conspiracy theories about the shooting and finding out that his wife was mentioned as not being real, not existing, or not being whom she was said to have been.

Despite not being active on social media, Mr Sherlach was aware of the conspiracies within four or five weeks of the massacre.

Wednesday 28 September 2022 16:07 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Sherlach describes how he coped with his grief in the aftermath of the shooting and began “Mary’s Fund” to raise money for mental health charities for children and teenagers.

The conspiracies didn’t stop. His family was accused of being the Goldbergs of Florida and he was alleged to have been involved in a financial cabal manipulating the overnight rates in Britain for financial gain, as well as being involved with the shooter’s father.

While he dismissed the conspiracies as crazy, he couldn’t ignore them for the impact they might have on his professional reputation as a financial adviser. This then grew into fears for his daughters and grandchildren as it just takes one person to confront his family in person for there to be the potential of real physical danger.

“The threat could come from anywhere,” he says. “Anyone can find you.”

Wednesday 28 September 2022 16:14 , Oliver O'Connell

There is no cross-examination from defence attorney Norm Pattis and Mr Sherlach is excused.

The court breaks for its mid-morning recess and will resume at 11.30am.

Watch: Bill Sherlach testifies his wife was shot five times

Wednesday 28 September 2022 16:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Witness: Alissa Parker

Wednesday 28 September 2022 16:49 , Oliver O'Connell

Next on the stand is Alissa Parker, wife of Robbie Parker, and mother of Emilie, who was killed at Sandy Hook.

She now lives in Washington State and has been flying back and forth to attend the trial.

Robbie Parker was the first parent accused of being a crisis actor after chuckling at a press conference, which Alex Jones said was a sign that the shooting was faked.

Wednesday 28 September 2022 17:03 , Oliver O'Connell

As with other witnesses, Ms Parker tells a charming, and at times funny story about the beginnings of her relationship with Robbie.

There is warm laughter from the gallery where other plaintiffs are seated.

Plaintiffs’ attorneys appear to be using direct examination to demonstrate to the jury the familiar homeliness, closeness, or aspirational lives of their clients.

Then testimony turns to how they were first ripped apart by the tragedy and then continuously impacted by the hoax in the years after.

Wednesday 28 September 2022 17:18 , Oliver O'Connell

Meanwhile on Infowars...

Wednesday 28 September 2022 17:28 , Oliver O'Connell

Ms Parker begins to become emotional when discussing her husband’s relationship with their daughter Emilie, whose thoughtfulness she says he inherited from her father.

We also learn about her impressive talent for art at the age of six and would write notes for her parents at night and give them to her parents in the morning.

Wednesday 28 September 2022 17:29 , Oliver O'Connell

Ms Parker recalls the morning of the shooting that the group of children waiting for the bus were playing tag and as they piled onto the bus Emilie had not waved goodbye which she usually did.

She remembers thinking that “once is ok”.

Later she recalls being at the firehouse with other parents and learning the worse. The court is shown photos from that day of Alissa and Robbie leaving to go home, clearly devastated and in shock.

Wednesday 28 September 2022 17:34 , Oliver O'Connell

In the middle of Alissa Parker’s emotional testimony — in which she, like other parents, said she was unaware of Alex Jones — a lunch recess is called.

We will hear more of the harassment the family endured in the aftermath of the shooting when court resumes at 2pm.

ICYMI: Families testify of confrontations with Sandy Hook deniers

Wednesday 28 September 2022 18:10 , Oliver O'Connell

A mother who lost one of her sons in the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre testified Tuesday that her biggest fear is that people who believe the shooting was a hoax will harm her other son, who survived the attack at his school.

Nicole Hockley and her former husband, Ian Hockley, were the latest family members of the 26 victims of the school shooting to testify at the defamation trial of Alex Jones, where a jury is deciding how much the conspiracy theorist must pay for spreading the hoax lie.

Families testify of confrontations with Sandy Hook deniers at Alex Jones trial

Court resumes

Wednesday 28 September 2022 19:14 , Oliver O'Connell

Judge Bellis returns to the bench and court will soon be underway with continued testimony from Alissa Parker.

Attorneys from both sides discussed exhibits with the judge and the jury is now being brought back into the courtroom.

Wednesday 28 September 2022 19:24 , Oliver O'Connell

Ms Parker explains about a Facebook page set up by friends in Utah in memory of their daughter Emilie and how it attracted media queries.

A network affiliate in Utah wanted comments from the family on the death of Emilie as the Parkers were from there.

Her husband Robbie decided to give the statement to the affiliate at their church in Connecticut as he wanted someone who really knew his daughter to speak for her and to reach out to their community in Utah.

Ms Parker recalls arriving at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Newtown. It was a media circus and not what they had been expecting.

Robbie spoke and gave a “sweet” speech at a podium, honouring his little girl. Ms Parker says she was proud of him as she would not have been able to do what he did.

Wednesday 28 September 2022 19:28 , Oliver O'Connell

It was Mr Parker’s speech that Alex Jones seized on to accuse him of being an actor and faking the death of his daughter.

The speech was given on the Saturday after the shooting and by the Sunday he discovered videos being posted on Emilie’s memorial page and horrible things being said about him.

Ms Parker remembers him blocking users and deleting posts, but they just kept coming.

“I could tell there was a panic, I didn’t know what was going on but could sense that he was processing and scrambling a little trying to understand.”

Wednesday 28 September 2022 19:32 , Oliver O'Connell

Ms Parker describes the experience as a “full-on assault” and “so intense” and the words people were using were “so horrific”.

The threats began immediately telling the Parkers to watch their backs and that they would “burn in hell for what they’d done”.

Robbie was called a “liar” and their late six-year-old daughter a “whore”.

Ms Parker, who has remained remarkably composed throughout her testimony, is now crying and upset at the memory of the time.

All of this happened in the week after the tragedy and before Emilie’s funeral.

Wednesday 28 September 2022 19:38 , Oliver O'Connell

The Parkers feared there would likely be protesters at the graveside service.

A weeping Alissa tells the jury: “The service was supposed to be at her life.”

They decided to have a closed casket because they worried someone would photograph Emilie and somehow use it against them.

“We just shut down. We were just zombies. I hardly remember what was said on the day of the funeral,” she says, sobbing. “They stole that from me.”

Wednesday 28 September 2022 19:41 , Oliver O'Connell

Ms Parker started a program called Safe and Sound Schools with Michele Gay, another of the mothers of a Sandy Hook victim — her daughter’s good friend, Josephine.

She decided that she didn’t want the organisation to be flooded with threats or attacked and so did not join the suit as a plaintiff, though her husband did.

Wednesday 28 September 2022 19:46 , Oliver O'Connell

The Parkers left Newtown within a year of the tragedy as they had few ties to the area and the threats and harassment became too much.

“They were sending threatening letters to our home, death threats. We just wanted some anonymity.”

Having moved to Washington state, the threats did not stop and they could not escape the conspiracy theories.

A tearful Ms Parker says that the conspiracy even followed them into their church, saying that frequently she is told by friends that they have argued with relatives or associates who think the Parkers are liars.

“That happens on a regular basis. People telling us that people in their lives don’t believe us and think we’re horrible people.”

“You’re paranoid people in your own group are turning against you,” she says, describing it as scary to know that they’re everywhere.

Wednesday 28 September 2022 19:52 , Oliver O'Connell

Ms Parker is asked about how this has all affected her husband whom she has known for decades.

“He doesn’t talk to anyone. He doesn’t trust people,” she says.

“It’s stolen so much of him. He is very withdrawn, doesn’t talk to people. He doesn’t look up or talk to people when we go to church, he sits in a corner and has his head down the entire time.”

Mr Parker is weeping in the gallery as she speaks.

“He felt so much shame and felt like it was his fault that this happened and felt like it was because of him that our family got attacked and all the other families got attacked. He beat himself up for it and felt like he had to fix it.”

Ms Parker’s testimony ends and defence attorney Norm Pattis declines to cross-exam her.

Court takes a brief recess.

Witness: Robbie Parker

Wednesday 28 September 2022 20:05 , Oliver O'Connell

After the emotional testimony of his wife, Alissa, Robbie Parker now takes the stand. He is clearly upset from reliving the trauma of the tragedy and what follows but manages to make a joke about her account of their dating life.

After some gentle questioning about his travel schedule to be in court every week, he says about testifying: “I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time.”

Wednesday 28 September 2022 20:35 , Oliver O'Connell

The jury is shown photos of father and daughter together at Fenway Park as well as Emilie with her two sisters — he says they looked up to her and she understood her role as the older sibling.

Mr Parker also recalls her birth: “They wrap her up and they give her to me. I was so scared almost by how much I could love somebody so immediately. I’d never felt so vulnerable in my entire life as I did in that moment when Emilie was looking at me.”

He later became a physician’s assistant working in a neonatal intensive unit, which is where he was on the morning of 14 December 2012.

Judge Bellis calls for the mid-afternoon break.

Wednesday 28 September 2022 21:08 , Oliver O'Connell

Judge Bellis back on the bench, but there is an extended sidebar underway with the attorneys regarding charge instructions from what can be heard on the livestream.

As court is scheduled to end at approximately 4.30pm, we may have to wait until tomorrow to hear more from Mr Parker.

Wednesday 28 September 2022 21:14 , Oliver O'Connell

There was a technical issue that has now been resolved, so we will hear more from Mr Parker.

Attorney Chris Mattei asks him about the morning of 14 December 2012.

He recalls an automated voicemail and an immediate call from his wife, Alissa. They both tried to find out more information before they determined what to do next.

The suggestion was to follow advice not to go to the school but Alissa instead went to the firehouse. There another mother took the two other girls from Alissa and she stayed at the firehouse.

Mr Parker eventually was allowed to leave his locked-down hospital and advised to go and be with his wife.

Wednesday 28 September 2022 21:23 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Parker is reminded about the photos the jury saw earlier and asked if he knew who Alex Jones was prior to the incident.

He is then asked about the speech he made outside their church and prompted to tell the story in his own words.

Mr Parker asked a friend to set it up as he wanted to honour his daughter and believed there would be just one reporter as he couldn’t believe anyone beyond their community in Utah would want to know what he had to say. He thought a taped statement would mean that his words would not be misconstrued.

As the court heard from Alissa, there was a huge media presence broadcasting live. He recalls being blinded by the lights and he wanted someone to tell him what to do.

The court is played a video of the moment Mr Parker came out to speak.

In the footage from CNN, Mr Parker smiles as he emerges from the church to give his statement. The smile is a foundational part of Sandy Hook conspiracy theories.

Wednesday 28 September 2022 21:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Parker is asked about the smile.

He says when he tries to relax or try to calm down, he smiles or chuckles to himself. As he walked up to the podium his father joked: “Go get ‘em Oggy,” referencing the name of the mascot he used to play that had become his nickname. He said it was a dad, making a dad joke.

Mr Parker is asked whether he knew that Alex Jones has replayed the smile on numerous occasions. He said he did know.

It is this footage that Jones said he thought was fake and he called him an actor, setting off the conspiracy that the entire incident was faked.

In footage from Jones’s deposition he quibbles as to whether he called him an actor or said it “looked like he was acting”.

Wednesday 28 September 2022 21:34 , Oliver O'Connell

In another piece of footage from Infowars, director Rob Dew is seen saying that Mr Parker looked like he was “getting into character”. That clip was broadcast two years after the tragedy,

Wednesday 28 September 2022 21:36 , Oliver O'Connell

Just hours after he gave the statement and less than 48 hours after the murder of his daughter, Mr Parker went online to see what nice comments friends and family had posted on the Facebook page.

Instead, he was met with a barrage of harassment and links to pictures of him smiling at the press conference.

“That really threw me off. I was looking for something to keep me stable because my compass was spinning, I didn’t know which way was what, and seeing these comments broke that connection I had, that stability. “

Wednesday 28 September 2022 21:44 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Parker recalls that by the Tuesday after the shooting this daughter’s memorial page had become flooded with negative comments.

“What was just this littering of comments by Tuesday became just a burning trash pile,” he testified. He clicked on some of the links to figure out what was going on. During this time he saw Jones’s videos.

Infowars published a story headlined: “Father of Sandy Hook Victims Asks ‘Read The Card?’ Seconds Before Tear-Jerking Press Conference.”

This all occurred before Emilie’s funeral.

Wednesday 28 September 2022 21:48 , Oliver O'Connell

Funeral planning ended up becoming dominated by contingency plans for if hoaxers showed up, or how to deal with the media and what people should be allowed to see.

At one point he couldn’t find his wife. Alissa was hiding in a coat closet, curled up in a ball, sobbing: “I don’t know if I can do this.”

Wednesday 28 September 2022 21:49 , Oliver O'Connell

Judge Bellis adjourns the court for the day.

Proceedings will resume at 10am on Thursday for a half-day session.

Sandy Hook father fights tears recalling press event that made him top target for hoax lies

Wednesday 28 September 2022 22:19 , Oliver O'Connell

The grieving father of a victim of the Sandy Hook shooting has broken his silence about the 2012 press conference that made him the top target for Alex Jones’ lies about the massacre.

Robbie Parker’s six-year-old daughter Emilie was one of the 26 students and staff members murdered in the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School on 14 December 2012.

One day after the massacre, the devastated father gave a brief speech to the media where he paid tribute to his little girl who “made the world a better place” for being in it.

Rachel Sharp reports on his testimony.

Sandy Hook father recalls press briefing that made him top target of Alex Jones’ lies

Jurors must decide how much Newtown families suffering worth

Wednesday 28 September 2022 23:15 , Oliver O'Connell

After watching days of testimony that included the parents of slain children breaking down on the witness stand, a Connecticut jury soon will have the difficult task of coming up with a dollar amount that conspiracy theorist Alex Jones should pay for promoting the idea that the Sandy Hook school shooting was a hoax.

Jurors must decide how much Newtown families suffering worth

ICYMI: Alex Jones pushes ‘deep state theory in testimony

Thursday 29 September 2022 00:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Last week Alex Jones kicked off his combative testimony in his defamation case over his lies about the Sandy Hook massacre by pushing another wild conspiracy – this time about the so-called “deep state”.

Rachel Sharp watched the day in court.

Alex Jones kicks off Sandy Hook trial testimony by pushing ‘deep state’ conspiracy

Alex Jones: ‘I’m done apologising’

Thursday 29 September 2022 02:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Alex Jones shouted that he was “done apologising” for spreading lies that the Sandy Hook massacre was a “hoax” as family members of some of the victims looked on crying in court.

The courtroom in Connecticut descended into chaos on Thursday as the far-right conspiracy theorist took the stand in his defamation case and refused to acknowledge any responsibility for causing a decade of harassment to the victims’ families.

“I’ve already said I’m sorry hundreds of times. And I’m done saying sorry,” he shouted across the courtroom.

Alex Jones shouts ‘I’m done apologising’ at Sandy Hook parents crying in court

Alex Jones is ‘the biggest bully I’ve ever faced’, says Sandy Hook mother

Thursday 29 September 2022 03:45 , Oliver O'Connell

The mother of Sandy Hook victim, Jesse Lewis, describes Alex Jones as the ‘biggest bully I’ve ever faced’, weeks after winning a lawsuit against the InfoWars host.

Jones was under fire for claiming the Sandy Hook massacre was ‘hoax’ multiple times.

“Getting on the stand was something I felt like I had to do. I didn’t want to do it,” Scarlett Lewis said in a CNN interview.

“It was the hardest thing I’ve done since Jesse’s murder... I mean this is literally facing the biggest bully I’ve ever faced.”

Sandy Hook victim's mother calls Alex Jones 'the biggest bully I've ever faced'

Why is Alex Jones on trial for a second time?

Thursday 29 September 2022 05:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Why Alex Jones is facing trial again over his Sandy Hook ‘hoax’ lies

Father tells jury of pain inflicted by Sandy Hook hoax

Thursday 29 September 2022 07:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Ian Hockley testified Tuesday that he was ridiculed online as a “party boy” and an actor after posting a video of the memorial service for his 6-year-old son, who was killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook school massacre.

Hockley is the latest family member of the 26 victims of the shooting to testify at the defamation trial of Alex Jones, where a jury is deciding how much the conspiracy theorist must pay for spreading the lie that the shooting was a hoax.

Hockley, who lost his autistic son Dylan in the shooting, testified that he became the target of conspiracy theorists because he smiled during what he found as an uplifting memorial service.

Father testifies of pain inflicted by Sandy Hook deniers

Families testify about confrontations with Sandy Hook deniers

Thursday 29 September 2022 08:45 , Oliver O'Connell

A mother who lost one of her sons in the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre testified Tuesday that her biggest fear is that people who believe the shooting was a hoax will harm her other son, who survived the attack at his school.

Nicole Hockley and her former husband, Ian Hockley, were the latest family members of the 26 victims of the school shooting to testify at the defamation trial of Alex Jones, where a jury is deciding how much the conspiracy theorist must pay for spreading the hoax lie.

Families testify of confrontations with Sandy Hook deniers at Alex Jones trial

ICYMI: Alex Jones believes angry courtroom rant did more damage to opposition counsel

Thursday 29 September 2022 10:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Alex Jones has bizarrely claimed that his irate outburst during testimony at the second defamation trial over his Sandy Hook hoax lies did more damage to the opposition than himself.

The Infowars host fumed at reporters outside the court in Waterbury, Connecticut, on Friday morning as his defence attorney Norm Pattis was inside telling the judge he would waive the right to cross examine Mr Jones.

Mr Pattis said he hoped the move would “lower the temperature” in court and that Mr Jones will take the stand at a later point in the trial as a witness for the defence.

Alex Jones claims his furious Sandy Hook trial rant ‘destroyed’ opposing legal team

Sandy Hook father weeps recalling press briefing that made him top target of Alex Jones’s hoax lies

Thursday 29 September 2022 12:15 , Oliver O'Connell

The grieving father of a victim of the Sandy Hook shooting has broken his silence about the 2012 press conference that made him the top target for Alex Jones’ lies about the massacre.

Robbie Parker’s six-year-old daughter Emilie was one of the 26 students and staff members murdered in the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School on 14 December 2012.

One day after the massacre, the devastated father gave a brief speech to the media where he paid tribute to his little girl who “made the world a better place” for being in it.

Unbeknownst to Mr Parker at the time, it was the first time any of the victims’ family members had spoken out publicly following their deaths.

As he walked up to the microphone, he briefly smiled – something that instantly made him a target of the conspiracy theorist’s lies.

Rachel Sharp reports for The Independent.

Sandy Hook father recalls press briefing that made him top target of Alex Jones’ lies

Watch: Sandy Hook plaintiff describes conspiracy theories about him

Thursday 29 September 2022 13:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Jurors must decide how much Newtown families suffering worth

Thursday 29 September 2022 13:45 , Oliver O'Connell

After watching days of testimony that included the parents of slain children breaking down on the witness stand, a Connecticut jury soon will have the difficult task of coming up with a dollar amount that conspiracy theorist Alex Jones should pay for promoting the idea that the Sandy Hook school shooting was a hoax.

Jurors must decide how much Newtown families suffering worth

Watch: Alissa Parker testifies about daughter Emilie

Thursday 29 September 2022 14:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Alex Jones is ‘the biggest bully I’ve ever faced’, says Sandy Hook mother

Thursday 29 September 2022 14:45 , Oliver O'Connell

The mother of Sandy Hook victim, Jesse Lewis, describes Alex Jones as the ‘biggest bully I’ve ever faced’, weeks after winning a lawsuit against the InfoWars host.

Jones was under fire for claiming the Sandy Hook massacre was ‘hoax’ multiple times.

“Getting on the stand was something I felt like I had to do. I didn’t want to do it,” Scarlett Lewis said in a CNN interview.

“It was the hardest thing I’ve done since Jesse’s murder... I mean this is literally facing the biggest bully I’ve ever faced.”

Sandy Hook victim's mother calls Alex Jones 'the biggest bully I've ever faced'

Day 11 gets underway

Thursday 29 September 2022 15:07 , Oliver O'Connell

Day 11 of the second defamation trial of Alex Jones is getting underway.

It begins with a sidebar discussing how to shorten the charge sheet of jury instructions.

Robbie Parker, father of Sandy Hook victim Emilie Parker, will continue his testimony once the jury is brought in.

On his Infowars show in 2012, Jones made Mr Parker the centre of a horrific allegation that the massacre of 20 children and six adults was a hoax when he accused the grieving father of being an actor when he made a televised statement in memoriam of his daughter.

Thursday 29 September 2022 15:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Parker begins by explaining that on top of their grief and planning a memorial for their daughter, the “unknown entity that exists out there” caused by the conspiracy theory surrounding them was an extra weight on their shoulders.

The viewing for Emilie was in Utah on 21 December 2012 and her burial was the next day. The family stayed with family in the state until the second week of January before returning to Connecticut.

The online harassment continued throughout and when they returned home in January. It was that month that they began to connect the dots between what they were experiencing and Alex Jones.

Thursday 29 September 2022 15:24 , Oliver O'Connell

On the flight home, Mr Parker saw Alex Jones appear on Piers Morgan’s CNN show in late January 2013.

The jury is shown a clip from Infowars in which Jones says the press conference that Mr Parker gave was staged and his behaviour was odd.

The same clip is then played on a split screen with Jones’s deposition on the other side as he too watches it. Jones smirks as he watches it and attorney Chris Mattei asks Mr Parker whether he saw the Infowars host do that.

“I saw that,” says Mr Parker.

Thursday 29 September 2022 15:27 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Parker says his reaction to the experience was not to engage with a bully and to ignore the harassment and that these people would “go back to looking for Bigfoot”.

The Facebook memorial page became increasingly overwhelmed with conspiracy theorists and by mid-January he had to shut the page down.

“I felt like I couldn’t protect Emily’s name or memory anymore, so I had to get rid of it.”

Thursday 29 September 2022 15:32 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Parker said he was constantly reporting abusive content from Facebook and YouTube, begging to have comments taken down: “I was pleading and pleading for their help.”

He sounds very emotional describing how he felt responsible for the harassment that so many who had lost children at Sandy Hook were experiencing because of his press conference, though he says he had their support.

He knows that logically it is not his fault but nevertheless, he wanted anonymity and decided to move across the country to the Pacific northwest.

Thursday 29 September 2022 15:35 , Oliver O'Connell

The Parkers moved in early 2014 and still Alex Jones kept pushing the conspiracy. The court is shown footage from Infowars from March 2014.

Thursday 29 September 2022 15:44 , Oliver O'Connell

Even after they moved the Sandy Hook hoaxers followed, with one even posting a YouTube video about the sale of their house in Connecticut, their new address, and other details.

During this time Alissa Parker deteriorated emotionally and had to step back from the foundation she had started with another victim’s mother.

More videos followed on Infowars, including Wolfgang Halbig saying no children had died at Sandy Hook. Another deluge of assault on the family occurred.

Mr Parker says he knew whenever Alex Jones said anything about them because another wave of harassment would hit them.

Watch: Alex Jones appears on Piers Morgan’s CNN show in January 2013

Thursday 29 September 2022 15:50 , Oliver O'Connell

Thursday 29 September 2022 15:52 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Parker says that whenever he looked up an unrelated YouTube video for his daughter he would see his own face in Sandy Hook videos as a suggested clip.

Another video is played to the court in which Infowars director Rob Dew also claims Mr Parker is an actor.

He compares the parents to actors in “Our Town” who had prepared for their roles before going on stage and mocks his crying.

Mr Parker says he began to hate the video of himself.

Thursday 29 September 2022 15:59 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Parker recounts a particularly harrowing verbal confrontation with a Sandy Hook hoax conspiracy theorist.

It was 3,000 miles away and four years after Sandy Hook in the fall of 2016 when he was confronted in the street in Seattle by a man who recognised him.

Mr Parker apologised to the judge for the language he was about to use.

When he introduced himself the man angrily confronted him: “How do you f***ing sleep at night you f***ing piece of s***?”

He continued to harass him, shouting: “How much money did you get from the government”.

Mr Parker recalled the man followed him calling him a “son of a bitch” and screaming that his daughter was still alive.

Eventually, he responded to the man: “How dare you, you’re talking about my daughter. She was killed, who do you think you are? How do you sleep at night? I used some colorful language as well.”

He remembers: “We went at it, we were yelling at each other. That circle of people around us got wider and wider.”

Finally he was able to walk away from the man to get back to his family.

“I had to be OK,” he says. “I wanted to protect them so bad.”

Thursday 29 September 2022 16:01 , Oliver O'Connell

The court is shown another Infowars video of Alex Jones yet again calling him an actor.

That video was broadcast in November 2016, corresponding to the time when the confrontation occurred.

Thursday 29 September 2022 16:14 , Oliver O'Connell

In 2018, Mr Parker was put in touch with the parents of a victim of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

He saw himself reflected back in their experience as they grieved the death of their child.

“Grief should be sacred, something that transforms you as a person and makes you better.”

The parents said people were saying things about them from a press conference they gave and they were dealing with the same allegations of being “crisis actors” and that the massacre was a “false flag” operation and fake.

Alex Jones said in his deposition that he had said the Parkland victims were actors.

“It’s atrocious to have to go through all this when all you want to do is grieve,” Mr Parker tells the court.

He says he knew then that he could fight this as he had dealt with it longer than they had and knew more about it than they did. He says that the Parkland family should not have to go through what he had.

Thursday 29 September 2022 16:15 , Oliver O'Connell

There is no cross-examination of Robbie Parker by defence attorney Norm Pattis.

Thursday 29 September 2022 16:31 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Parker’s emotionally raw testimony is followed by a video deposition of Rob Dew, who worked for years with Alex Jones at Infowars as news director.

He repeated many of the lies about Sandy Hook. He is shown emails he sent to Dan Bidondi who was sent by Infowars to Sandy Hook to harass officials.

During the brief video Dew says: “I don’t know what I was thinking at the time.”

Court breaks for the mid-morning recess.

Witness: Matthew Soto

Thursday 29 September 2022 16:46 , Oliver O'Connell

Following the break, Matthew Soto, brother of Sandy Hook teacher Vicki Soto, takes the stand.

Mr Soto was 15 at the time of his sister’s murder in December 2012 and is now a high school English teacher.

The jury has already heard from the Soto sisters Carlee and Jillian.

Thursday 29 September 2022 17:06 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Soto recalls the disruption and trauma he experienced after his sister’s death and spent two years being largely home-schooled because of how pervasive the conspiracy theories had become and how scared he was of being in a classroom environment.

“I was diagnosed with PTSD and fearful of being in a classroom environment because I was constantly waiting for [a mass shooting] to happen there.”

Thursday 29 September 2022 17:21 , Oliver O'Connell

Mr Soto remembers being in class as a sophomore in college when the teacher asked how many students believe Sandy Hook happened. Not everyone raised their hands and he had a panic attack and dropped the class. He later took the class again with a different professor.

He recalls how he changed his activity on social media and would sometimes deny being Vicki’s brother when asked. At the 5K charity run the family organises, he does not like to wear the t-shirt in case someone harasses him.

Plaintiffs’ counsel says his students are lucky to have him as a teacher.

In a short cross-examination he is asked about his participation in a DC Rally organised by survivors of the Parkland shooting, and whether he knows Alex Jones’s views on gun violence — he says he does not.

Witness: Donna Soto

Thursday 29 September 2022 17:24 , Oliver O'Connell

Vicki Soto’s mother Donna Soto takes the stand after her son’s testimony.

Ms Soto is a registered nurse at a local hospital in Connecticut. She fondly recalls her daughter loving being a teacher, collecting books and being described as a “perfect child”.

Thursday 29 September 2022 17:32 , Oliver O'Connell

Ms Soto remembers that 4,000 people came to her daughter’s wake in Stratford, Connecticut, and they needed security. She remembers a man taking photos of the family getting into the limo on their way to the service.

She says there were 25 Facebook pages with Vicki’s name on them covered in lies and a family friend stepped in to help take them down. These had flourished online in just the one month after the tragedy.

A real memorial page was also defaced by hoax believers. The harassment continues to this day with a comment being posted last Sunday accusing the family of making money from the “dead kids”.

Thursday 29 September 2022 17:36 , Oliver O'Connell

In one harrowing detail of Ms Soto’s testimony, the jury hears how the library her daughter had amassed in her classroom could not be returned to the family as the books were contaminated with blood from the shooting.

Thursday 29 September 2022 17:43 , Oliver O'Connell

Ms Soto says she has had to install security cameras around her house and cover the monthly costs of that. She adds that her children have had to drop out of classes and lose out on tuition fees.

After a brief cross-examination, her testimony concludes.

Deposition: David Jones

Thursday 29 September 2022 17:45 , Oliver O'Connell

Next the jury is shown video deposition of Alex Jones’s father David Jones, who is deeply involved in Infowars as an employee of Free Speech Systems.

A former dentist who retired in 201, he says he now reports to his son, Alex — and as does everyone else.

His primary responsibility was to ensure they did business properly and created a good environment for employees.

He takes on duties that were not convenient for his son to deal with as the principal.

Court adjourns for the day

Thursday 29 September 2022 17:51 , Oliver O'Connell

Following Mr Jones’s deposition, Judge Barbara Bellis lets the jury know that the reason they are having four and a half days off is that she is taking a rare day off herself.

She also tells jurors that the trial is running ahead of schedule and testimony is set to conclude next week.

Court adjourns for the day and will resume on Tuesday.

Watch: Robbie Parker weeps on stand recalling harassment after daughter’s murder

Thursday 29 September 2022 18:20 , Oliver O'Connell

Jurors must decide how much Newtown families suffering worth

Thursday 29 September 2022 19:00 , Oliver O'Connell

After watching days of testimony that included the parents of slain children breaking down on the witness stand, a Connecticut jury soon will have the difficult task of coming up with a dollar amount that conspiracy theorist Alex Jones should pay for promoting the idea that the Sandy Hook school shooting was a hoax.

Read more:

Jurors must decide how much Newtown families suffering worth

Robbie Parker tells trial he felt like he ‘failed’ his slain daughter

Thursday 29 September 2022 19:41 , Oliver O'Connell

The grieving father at the centre of Alex Jones’ Sandy Hook hoax lies has revealed how the far-right conspiracy theorist left him feeling like he “failed” his murdered daughter.

Robbie Parker returned to the witness stand on Thursday to testify in Mr Jones’ defamation trial, as jurors weigh how much he must pay to the families of victims of the 2012 mass shooting for the harassment they suffered because of his lies.

Choking back tears, he told jurors how he believed he was “failing” six-year-old Emilie’s memory as Mr Jones lies continued to spread lies about her.

Rachel Sharp watched his testimony unfold.

Sandy Hook father says Alex Jones lies made him feel like he ‘failed’ his daughter

Alex Jones ‘done’ apologising to Sandy Hook families

Thursday 29 September 2022 20:36 , Oliver O'Connell

Alex Jones screamed that he was “done apologising” for pushing a conspiracy theory that the Sandy Hook school shooting was a hoax as the families of victims watched on in the courtroom.

The Infowars host is testifying in his second defamation trial as families of the victims sue him for defamation and emotional distress.

“Is this a struggle session, are we in China? I have already said sorry hundreds of times and I am done saying I am sorry. I didn’t generate this, I was not the first person to say it,” Jones said.

Alex Jones: Infowars host ‘done’ apologising to Sandy Hook families

ICYMI: Lawyer tells Sandy Hook judge he ‘expected more outbursts’ from Alex Jones

Thursday 29 September 2022 21:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Alex Jones’ lawyer admitted to a judge that he had expected more outbursts from the conspiracy theorist after he sarcastically answered a question during testimony in the latest Sandy Hook trial.

Attorney Norm Pattis was summoned by Judge Barbara Bellis to explain his client’s unruly behavior after she cleared the court on Thursday.

Graeme Massie reports.

Alex Jones’ lawyer tells Sandy Hook judge he ‘expected more outbursts’ from client

Alex Jones shamelessly asks for Infowars cryptocurrency donations during trial

Thursday 29 September 2022 22:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Alex Jones shamelessly asked people to donate cryptocurrency to Infowars as he took the stand and testified in a Sandy Hook defamation trial.

Jones even took the time to give the web address for donating cryptocurrency to his right-wing media company as a lawyer for the victims’ families pressed him on ways he has monetised claims the school massacre was a hoax.

Alex Jones asks for Infowars cryptocurrency donations during Sandy Hook testimony

Mother of Sandy Hook victim: Alex Jones as the ‘biggest bully I’ve ever faced’

Friday 30 September 2022 00:30 , Oliver O'Connell

The mother of one of the victims of the Sandy Hook massacre has described Alex Jones as the “biggest bully I’ve ever faced”.

Scarlett Lewis, whose six-year-old son Jesse Lewis was murdered in the 2012 massacre, told CNN’s Anderson Cooper that testifying at the far-right conspiracy theorist’s first defamation trial was the “hardest thing” she has done since losing her child – but that she had to stand up to try to stop him from bullying others.

Rachel Sharp reports.

Mother of Sandy Hook victim describes Alex Jones as ‘biggest bully I’ve ever faced’

How did Alex Jones end up back in court so soon after his last trial?

02:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Alex Jones is back in court after his Texas trial, this time in Connecticut. The current case is a consolidation of three lawsuits brought by 15 plaintiffs. The relatives of eight victims and a former FBI agent who worked the shooting are bringing their case for damages against Jones.

Graig Graziosi explains.

Why Alex Jones is facing trial again over his Sandy Hook ‘hoax’ lies

Victim’s father Ian Hockley testifies of pain inflicted by Sandy Hook deniers

04:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Ian Hockley testified Tuesday that he was ridiculed online as a “party boy” and an actor after posting a video of the memorial service for his 6-year-old son, who was killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook school massacre.

Hockley is the latest family member of the 26 victims of the shooting to testify at the defamation trial of Alex Jones, where a jury is deciding how much the conspiracy theorist must pay for spreading the lie that the shooting was a hoax.

Hockley, who lost his autistic son Dylan in the shooting, testified that he became the target of conspiracy theorists because he smiled during what he found as an uplifting memorial service.

Father testifies of pain inflicted by Sandy Hook deniers

Families testify of confrontations with Sandy Hook deniers

07:30 , Oliver O'Connell

A mother who lost one of her sons in the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre testified Tuesday that her biggest fear is that people who believe the shooting was a hoax will harm her other son, who survived the attack at his school.

Nicole Hockley and her former husband, Ian Hockley, were the latest family members of the 26 victims of the school shooting to testify at the defamation trial of Alex Jones, where a jury is deciding how much the conspiracy theorist must pay for spreading the hoax lie.

Nicole Hockley said she’s been called an actress and threatened with violence by people who have written to her that her 6-year-old son, Dylan, either never lived or never died.

Families testify of confrontations with Sandy Hook deniers at Alex Jones trial

Sandy Hook father weeps recalling being made him top target in Alex Jones’s hoax lies

09:30 , Oliver O'Connell

The grieving father of a victim of the Sandy Hook shooting has broken his silence about the 2012 press conference that made him the top target for Alex Jones’ lies about the massacre.

Robbie Parker’s six-year-old daughter Emilie was one of the 26 students and staff members murdered in the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School on 14 December 2012.

One day after the massacre, the devastated father gave a brief speech to the media where he paid tribute to his little girl who “made the world a better place” for being in it.

Unbeknownst to Mr Parker at the time, it was the first time any of the victims’ family members had spoken out publicly following their deaths.

As he walked up to the microphone, he briefly smiled – something that instantly made him a target of the conspiracy theorist’s lies.

Rachel Sharp has the full story.

Sandy Hook father recalls press briefing that made him top target of Alex Jones’ lies

Jurors must decide how much Newtown families suffering worth

11:30 , Oliver O'Connell

After watching days of testimony that included the parents of slain children breaking down on the witness stand, a Connecticut jury soon will have the difficult task of coming up with a dollar amount that conspiracy theorist Alex Jones should pay for promoting the idea that the Sandy Hook school shooting was a hoax.

A judge last year found Jones and his company, Free Speech Systems, liable by default for defaming and inflicting emotional distress on the plaintiffs — eight families who lost loved ones in the 2012 massacre and an FBI agent who was among the first responders. The jury of three men and three women is now charged with determining damages.

One by one, family members have taken the stand to talk about the horrors of losing a loved one, and how that has been compounded by a decade of harassment, fear and pain inflicted by those who believed the lie that the shooting never happened.

In often emotional testimony, they have detailed death and rape threats, mail from conspiracy theorists that included photos of dead children and in-person confrontations with people telling them their children or wives or mothers never existed.

At one point, a juror broke into tears and was comforted by another member of the panel.

Jurors must decide how much Newtown families suffering worth