Alex Jones’ settlement offer rejected by families of Sandy Hook victims, defamation lawsuit will proceed

Alex Jones’ settlement offer in a defamation suit against him filed by families of Sandy Hook victims has been flatly rejected by the plaintiffs, who claim Jones’ fans harassed them after the InfoWars host falsely asserted the 2012 elementary school shooting was a hoax.

The plaintiffs, which include eight families of Sandy Hook victims as well as an FBI agent who responded to the shooting, rejected the settlement offer of $120,000 each.

“The so-called offer is a transparent and desperate attempt by Alex Jones to escape a public reckoning under oath with his deceitful, profit-driven campaign against the plaintiffs and the memory of their loved ones lost at Sandy Hook,” the plaintiffs said in a joint statement.

The defamation suit is one of several brought against Jones after his false claims about the shooting. A Connecticut judge ruled in November that Jones is liable for damages in a lawsuit brought by Sandy Hook victims’ families, and Jones is scheduled to face trial.

Jones defied a court ordered appearance last week, failing to attend a deposition in his hometown of Austin, Texas. On Wednesday the judge held Jones in contempt of court but stopped short of issuing a warrant for his arrest.