A Texas appeals court has slashed the $50m judgment against Alex Jones, founder of the rightwing platform Infowars, to $1.5m over his false claim that the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, was a hoax.
Ruling limited to Texas case
The ruling does not affect a $1.4bn judgment against Jones in Connecticut, but is a significant legal victory for Jones after he and his company, Free Speech Systems, were found liable for damages for claiming the mass shooting didn't happen.
Court cites lack of evidence
The unanimous opinion issued by the Texas third court of appeals found that Sandy Hook parents Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis did not show sufficient evidence that harassment enflamed by Jones's hoax claims rose to a level that would allow them to exceed the state's $750,000 cap on damages.
