Alex Jones.Photo: SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images
“Especially since I’ve met the parents. It’s 100% real,” he said.
In court on Tuesday, the parents' attorneys asked for $150 million in damages.
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During his testimony, Neil Heslin, the father of 6-year-old victim Jesse Lewis, became emotional as he discussed about the impact of Jones' public statements.
“He tarnished the honor and legacy of Jesse,” Heslin said, while fighting back tears. “I can’t even begin to describe the last nine and a half years of hell we’ve suffered because of [Jones].
“There’s got to be a strong deterrent that shall prevent him from peddling this propaganda,” Heslin told the court. During his testimony, Heslin said that he was hoping to “restore my credibility, my reputation, and Jesse’s legacy that he so much deserves.”
But the strongest words came from Jesse’s mother, Scarlett Lewis.
“Jesse was real,” she said, addressing Jones. “I’m a real mom.”
Lewis said that she believed that Jones didn’t believe the untrue statements he was propagating, even at the time. “That’s the problem, I know you know that, but you keep saying it,” she said. “Why? Why? For money?”
“Having a six year old son shot in the forehead is an unbearable pain,” she said. “And then to have someone on top of that perpetuate a lie that it was a hoax, that it didn’t happen, that it was a false flag, and that I was an actress…” she said as her voice trailed off.
“It seems so incredible to me that we have to do this,” Lewis said as she addressed Jones. “That we have to implore you — not just implore you, punish you — to get you to stop lying… It is surreal what is going on in here.”
Jones took the stand later in the afternoon.
“I never intentionally tried to hurt you,” he testified, addressing the plaintiffs. “The internet had a lot of questions and I tried to find out what actually happened.”
The court proceedings will continue through the rest of the week.
source: people.com
