AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The father of a 6-year-old boy killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting testified Tuesday that conspiracy theorist Alex Jones made his life “hell” by pushing claims the killings were a hoax , featuring actors aimed at increasing gun control.
In more than an hour of emotional testimony, during which he often fought back tears, Neil Heslin said he had endured online abuse, anonymous phone calls and street harassment.
“What was said about me and Sandy Hook itself reverberates around the world,” Heslin said. “As time went on, I really realized how dangerous it was. … My life is in danger. I fear for my life, I fear for my safety.”
Heslin said his home and car were shot at, and his attorneys said Monday the family had a “meeting” in Austin after the trial began in the city and were in guarded isolation.
Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, the parents of 6-year-old Jesse Lewis, sued Jones and his media company, Free Speech Systems, over the harassment and threats they and other parents say they endured for years because of Jones and his Infowars website. Jones has argued that the 2012 attack that killed 20 first-graders and six staff members at the Connecticut school was a hoax or fake.
Heslin and Lewis are seeking at least $150 million in the suit.
“Today is very important for me and it’s been a long time coming … to confront Alex Jones for what he said and did to me. To restore my son’s honor and legacy,” Heslin said.
Heslin also said that while he didn’t know if the Sandy Hook hoax theory originated with Jones, it was Jones who “lighted the match and lit the fire” with an online platform and broadcast that reached millions around the world.
Heslin told the jury that he held his son with a bullet hole in his head, even describing the extent of the damage to his son’s body. A key segment of the case is a 2017 Infowars broadcast that says Heslin did not hold his son’s body.
An apology from Jones wouldn’t be enough at this point, he said.
“Alex started this fight,” Heslin said, “and I’m going to finish it.”
Jones was not in court during Heslin’s testimony, a move the father called “cowardly.” Jones missed much of the testimony during the two-week trial and had a team of bodyguards in the courtroom when he attended. Tuesday was the last scheduled day of testimony, and Jones was expected to take the stand as the only witness in his defense.
Scarlett Lewis was also called to the witness stand on Tuesday. She spoke much of her testimony directly to Jones, who had arrived in the courtroom.
“I’m a mother first and foremost, and I know you’re a father,” Lewis said. “My son existed… I know you know that.”
At one point, Lewis asked Jones, “Do you think I’m an actor?”
“No, I don’t think you’re an actor,” Jones replied, before the judge admonished him to remain silent until it was his turn to testify.
Heslin and Lewis suffer from a form of post-traumatic stress disorder, which comes from permanent trauma similar to that suffered by soldiers in war zones or victims of child abuse, testified a forensic psychologist who studied their cases and met with them Monday.
Jones framed the case against him as an attack on his First Amendment rights.
At stake in the trial is how much Jones will pay. The parents have asked the jury to award $150 million in damages for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress. A jury will then decide whether Jones and his company will pay punitive damages.
The process is just one of several faces of Jones.
Courts in Texas and Connecticut have already found Jones liable for defamation for his portrayal of the Sandy Hook massacre as a hoax. In both states, judges ruled against Jones without trial because he failed to respond to subpoenas and turn over documents.
Jones has already tried to financially protect Free Speech Systems. The company filed for federal bankruptcy protection last week. The Sandy Hook families separately sued Jones over his financial claims, alleging the company was trying to protect millions owned by Jones and his family through shell entities.
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