For years, bombastic far-right ranted to his millions of followers that the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was a hoax, that children werenB次元官网网址檛 killed and that parents were crisis actors in an elaborate ruse to force gun control.

Under oath and facing a jury in Austin, Texas that could hit him with $150 million or more in , Jones said Wednesday he now realizes that was irresponsible and believes that what happened in the deadliest school shooting in American history was B次元官网网址�100% real.B次元官网网址�

JonesB次元官网网址� public contrition came on the final day of testimony in a two-week defamation lawsuit against him and his Austin-based media company, Free Speech Systems, brought by , the parents of 6-year-old Jesse Lewis. Their son was a first grader who was among the 20 students and six teachers killed at the school in Newtown, Connecticut, on Dec. 14, 2012.

B次元官网网址淚 unintentionally took part in things that did hurt these peopleB次元官网网址檚 feelings,B次元官网网址� said Jones, who also acknowledged raising conspiracy claims about other mass tragedies, from the and bombings to the mass shootings in and , B次元官网网址渁nd IB次元官网网址檓 sorry for that.B次元官网网址�

But an apology isnB次元官网网址檛 enough for Heslin and Lewis. They said Jones and the media empire he controls and used to spread his false assertions must be held accountable.

B次元官网网址淎lex started this fight,B次元官网网址� Heslin said, B次元官网网址渁nd IB次元官网网址檒l finish this fight.B次元官网网址�

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The parents testified Tuesday about a decade of trauma, inflicted first by the murder of their son and what followed: gun shots fired at a home, online and telephone threats, and harassment on the street by strangers, all fueled by Jones and his conspiracy theory spread to his followers via his website Infowars.

A forensic psychiatrist testified the parents suffer from B次元官网网址渃omplex post-traumatic stress disorderB次元官网网址� inflicted by ongoing trauma, similar to what might be experienced by a soldier at war or a child abuse victim.

At one point in her testimony, Lewis looked directly at Jones, who was sitting barely 10 feet away.

B次元官网网址淚t seems so incredible to me that we have to do this B次元官网网址� that we have to implore you, to punish you B次元官网网址� to get you to stop lying,B次元官网网址� Lewis told Jones.

Courts in Texas and Connecticut have already found Jones liable for defamation for his portrayal of the Sandy Hook massacre as a hoax involving actors aimed at increasing gun control.

Now, Heslin and Lewis are asking the jury in Austin for $150 million in compensation for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress. They will also ask the jury to assess additional punitive damages.

Jurors began considering damages Wednesday. Once they determine whether Jones should pay the parents compensation for defamation and emotional distress, it must then decide if he must also pay punitive damages. That portion will involve a separate mini-trial with Jones and economists testifying to his and his companyB次元官网网址檚 net worth.

JonesB次元官网网址� attorney asked the jury to limit damages to $8 B次元官网网址� one dollar for each of the compensation charges they are considering B次元官网网址� and Jones himself said any award over $2 million B次元官网网址渨ould sink us.B次元官网网址�

At the end of JonesB次元官网网址� testimony, Mark Bankston, an attorney for the family, pulled a crumpled dollar bill out of his pocket, showed it to Jones, and put it down in front of the parents.

B次元官网网址淭he day Sandy Hook happened, Alex Jones planted a seed of misinformation that lasted a decade,B次元官网网址� parentsB次元官网网址� attorney Kyle Farrar told the jury in closing arguments. B次元官网网址淎nd he just watered that seed over and over until it bore fruit: cruelty and money.B次元官网网址�

During his testimony, Jones said heB次元官网网址檚 tried in the past to back off the hoax claims, but B次元官网网址渢hey (the media) wonB次元官网网址檛 let me take it back.B次元官网网址�

Jones B次元官网网址� who has been banned from major social media platforms for hate speech and abusive behavior B次元官网网址� has and complained that heB次元官网网址檚 been B次元官网网址渢ypecast as someone that runs around talking about Sandy Hook, makes money off Sandy Hook, is obsessed by Sandy Hook.B次元官网网址�

Eight days of testimony included videos of Jones and Infowars employees talking about the Sandy Hook conspiracy and even mocking HeslinB次元官网网址檚 description in a 2017 television interview that heB次元官网网址檇 held his dead son JesseB次元官网网址檚 body B次元官网网址渨ith a bullet hole through his head.B次元官网网址� Heslin described that moment with his dead son to the jury.

Jones was the only witness to testify in his defense. And he came under withering attack from the plaintiffs attorneys under cross examination, as they reviewed JonesB次元官网网址� own video claims about Sandy Hook over the years, and accused him of lying and trying to hide evidence, including text messages and emails about Sandy Hook. It also included internal emails sent by an Infowars employee that said B次元官网网址渢his Sandy Hook stuff is killing us.B次元官网网址�

At one point, Jones was told that his attorneys had mistakenly sent Bankston the last two yearsB次元官网网址� worth of texts from JonesB次元官网网址� cellphone.

And shortly after Jones declared B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 use email,B次元官网网址� Jones was shown one that came from his address, and another one from an Infowars business officer telling Jones that the company had earned $800,000 gross in selling its products in a single day, which would amount to nearly $300 million in a year.

Jones has already tried to protect Free Speech Systems financially. The company . Sandy Hook families have separately sued Jones over his financial claims, arguing that the company is trying to protect millions owned by Jones and his family through shell entities.

For more of the APB次元官网网址檚 coverage of school shootings:

Jim Vertuno, The Associated Press

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