Alex Jones may have more than civil penalties to worry after he finishes his $150 million defamation case brought by the parents of a six-year-old slain at Sandy Hook Elementary school – he could be looking at prison time for perjury.
Jones, who was sued for defamation by the family of Jesse Lewis for spreading false theories that the massacre was a hoax, claimed he had turned over all text and cell phone information pertinent to the case.
But Mark Bankston, the lawyer for parents, revealed Jones’s lawyer accidentally sent two years of the conspiracy theorist’s text messages that appear to directly contradict his sworn testimony.
‘I’d be very concerned if I were Mr. Jones’s lawyers,’ Dallas attorney William Dippel told DailyMail.com.
The inconsistency in the testimony could serve to undermine Jones’s credibility in the civil case, but legal experts say he exposed himself to a perjury charge that could carry up to 10 years in prison in Texas.
Alex Jones appears to be dumbstruck by the revelation that his lawyer accidentally sent two years worth of text messages that the InforWars hosted had denied having
Mark Bankston, the lawyer for the parents of a six-year-old Sandy Hook Massacre victim, dropped a bombshell that he had evidence that Alex Jones perjured himself
Neil Heslin, father of Sandy Hook Victim Jesse Lewis, 6, said his family’s life had been turned to a ‘living hell’ after Alex Jones spread conspiracy theories about the massacre
F. Andino Reynal, pictured, looks over text messages that he had accidentally sent to the opposition lawyers in the defamation case against Alex Jones
‘You were ordered to turn over any text messages regarding Sandy Hook, right?’ Bankston asked a sweating, twitchy Jones on the witness stand.
‘Yes,’ Jones replied.
‘And you said that you didn’t have any, right?’ Bankston continued.
‘Not that we could find,’ Jones said.
‘You, in fact, told me in your sworn testimony that you had searched, right?’ the lawyer said. Legal experts said Wednesday that it’s pretty clear case of perjury.
Jesse, 6, was one of the 26 victims shot and killed at the Sandy Hook Elementary School. His parents Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis have both testified against Jones in the trial
‘I’d be very concerned if I were Mr. Jones’s lawyers,’ Dallas attorney William Dippel told DailyMail.com.
There are two kinds of perjury in Texas, misdemeanor perjury which involved making a false statement under oath.
Aggravated perjury, a felony, must happen during an official proceeding and must involved an issue that would effect the outcome of the case.
‘Clearly this is an official proceeding, any courtroom is an official proceeding,’ Dippel said. ‘It sounded to me like it could be aggravated perjury because it had to do with whether or not he turned over discovery,’ the Dallas lawyer said.
There seems to be very little wiggle room, according to Dippel.
‘It’s hard for him to say that he didn’t know he wasn’t telling the truth because he had the judge reminding throughout his testimony,’ Dippel said. ‘It’s difficult for him to say that he accidentally perjured himself.
The case could be referred to the Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza in Austin, Texas where the trial is being held.
Or the prosecutor could take up the case himself.
‘This case has caught so much publicity, I would think that there’s a heighten opportunity for the DA to take a look at this because it’s right up in their face,’ Dippel said. ‘It will be in the paper tomorrow.
There’s one loophole for aggravated perjury, but it seems that Jones has missed the window to use it.
‘There is a retraction defense,’ Dippel said. ‘If you retract what you said during the proceeding before anyone else points it out. I don’t think that applies here at all.’
Jones repeatedly claimed that the 2012 massacre, which left 20 students and six teachers dead, was a ‘hoax’ and had been ‘staged’
Judge Maya Guerra Gamble seemed to barely tolerate the internet host, shaking her head once at a printout of a composite image on InfoWars of her engulfed in flames.
At one point the judge sent the jury out of the courtroom and strongly scolded Jones for telling the jury he had complied with pretrial evidence gathering even though he didn’t and that he is bankrupt, which has not been determined.
‘It seems absurd to instruct you again that you must tell the truth while you testify,’ she said. ‘Yet here I am.’
The plaintiffs’ attorneys were furious about Jones mentioning he is bankrupt, which they worry will taint the jury’s decisions about damages.
‘This is not your show,’ Gamble told Jones. ‘Your beliefs do not make something true. You are under oath.’
Last September, the judge admonished Jones in her default judgment over his failure to turn over documents requested by the Sandy Hook families.
A court in Connecticut issued a similar default judgment against Jones for the same reasons in a separate lawsuit brought by other Sandy Hook parents.
Parents of the Sandy Hook victims did hear Jones admit on the witness stand reversing his previous statements that the slaughter of 20 children and six adults in the Connecticut school was a hoax.
He told the court room that ‘100 percent’ he believed the shooting took place.
Jones was asked if he felt repeatedly claiming the shooting was a hoax was irresponsible, replying ‘it was, especially since I’ve met the parents.’
He claimed he was ‘under a lot of pressure’ at the time he claimed the slayings were a hoax, adding: ‘I truly meant it when I said those statements.
‘When I say something, I mean it, that I really could believe that it was totally staged, that point.’
But the parents of Jesse Heslin, 6, who was among the 26 people killed in the 2012 attack at the school in Newtown, Connecticut, have said an apology will not be enough.
Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis said that Jones needed to be held accountable for repeatedly spreading falsehoods about the shooting, and are seeking at least $150million.
The January 6 House Committee will subpoena Alex Jones’ emails and text for any contact with Donald Trump after his lawyers mistakenly sent them to the lawyers of Sandy Hook parents.
Sources told Rolling Stone that the committee is preparing to request the data from Jones’ attorneys after it was revealed they sent emails and texts to Sandy Hook families despite swearing under oath that the messages didn’t exist.
The sources added that the committee began discussing how to get the messages within minutes after Sandy Hook lawyer Mark Bankston made the revelation in court on Wednesday.
Bankston was also caught on hot mic speculating what the news of the messages would mean for Jones and the January 6 committee.
‘There’s going to be months of fallout from this,’ he said. ‘You know what no one’s thought about yet? What happens when that phone goes to law enforcement?’
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