Well, Alex Jones finally ran out of appeals—and, apparently, patience from the highest court in the land. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court quietly (and by “quietly,” I mean with the legal equivalent of a shrug) declined to hear Jones’s appeal of the $1.4 billion defamation judgment he owes for claiming that the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was a hoax.
That’s billion, with a “b.”
The justices didn’t even bother to ask the families of the victims to respond to Jones’s petition—a polite way of saying, “We’ve seen enough.” Jones had pleaded that the judgment was a “financial death penalty by fiat” and that his words were “taken out of context.” Which is quite a defense when the “context” was accusing grieving parents of faking their children’s murders.
Jones’s team also argued he’s a “media defendant” entitled to the full buffet of First Amendment protections. But here’s the thing about free speech: it protects you from government censorship, not from the consequences of telling enormous, malicious lies about real people. Especially when those lies lead to years of harassment and death threats against them.
The Court’s non-move keeps intact one of the largest defamation judgments in U.S. history. Whether the Sandy Hook families ever see much of that $1.4 billion is another matter—Jones is neck-deep in bankruptcy proceedings, and his company, Free Speech Systems, is being picked apart like a Thanksgiving turkey.
The families have already gotten a Texas judge to appoint a receiver to take control of Jones’s assets, though he’s appealing that too (of course he is). He’s even floated the idea that The Onion—yes, the satire site—could end up owning Infowars. Which, frankly, might be the most fitting ending imaginable.
Jones’s lawyers still insist the families are acting out of some “sinister” motive to silence his message. Because nothing says “sinister” like parents who simply want the guy who called their dead children crisis actors to face the consequences.
The Supreme Court’s decision (or lack thereof) sends a pretty clear message: even in America, the land of loud opinions, there are limits. You can say just about anything—but if you knowingly peddle lies that destroy lives, the First Amendment isn’t your shield.
