Alex Jones has a lot to say—just not on the topic of white supremacy. In a Connecticut court document filed Wednesday, Jones’ legal team motioned to limit expert testimony on white supremacy and far-right extremism as part of an ongoing lawsuit against Jones in response to his comments surrounding the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
To put it kindly, Alex Jones is an alt-right radio host, owner of InfoWars, and all around controversial guy. A common peddler of conspiracy theories from chemicals turning frogs gay to climate change as a hoax, arguably Jones’ most famous (and inflammatory) comments include those made regarding the tragic school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School that shattered the Connecticut town of Newtown nearly ten years ago.
Jones alleged that the Sandy Hook school shooting was a hoax, which, naturally, struck a chord with the parents who lost their children in the shooting, leading a group of them to file a defamation lawsuit in Connecticut in 2018. The court filings have been steadily trickling in since then, but this week, Alex Jones’ legal team has motioned to forbid the presentation of evidence regarding white supremacy and far-right extremism in the yet-to-be-scheduled trial. The motion in limine reads:
The plaintiffs have disclosed several potential expert witnesses. At least two of them, Dr. Heidi Beirich and Oren Sagal, may, according to the disclosures, attempt to testify on the topics of white supremacy and right-wing extremism. Additionally, the plaintiffs may seek to introduce evidence on those topics through other witnesses and exhibits. No matter the source, evidence relating to those topics is irrelevant, would be an attack on the defendants’ character and play to the emotions of the jury and distract from the main issues.
Jones’ legal team further argues that evidence involving the topics of white supremacy and far-right extremism are irrelevant in this case and shouldn’t be introduced during the court hearing, and that introduction of these topics is a ploy by the plaintiffs to distract the court from the case at hand. “Attempts to associate the defendants with individuals who espouse racist or extreme views would amount to improper character evidence,” the document elaborates.
This is not Jones’ only legal entanglement regarding a school shooting. Jones is facing a similar defamation lawsuit in Texas over the Sandy Hook school shooting, which Jones tried to wriggle out of legal fines and potential damage payments by filing for bankruptcy for three of his businesses, including InfoWars. Jones was also sued for defamation in Texas by a man that Jones falsely identified as the shooter in the 2018 Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida.