(Reuters) – A court in Connecticut granted a legal victory to the families of victims of a 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School by ruling that Alex Jones, a conspiracy theorist, was guilty of defamation by default, the New York Times reported on Monday.
Jones, founder of the right-wing website Infowars, claimed the shooting, in which 20 children and six school employees were shot dead at the school in Newtown, Connecticut, was fabricated by gun-control advocates and mainstream media.
In response, several parents sued Jones and Infowars, as well as its parent company, for defamation in both Texas and Connecticut. Infowars is based in Texas.
A judge in Connecticut Superior Court ruled on Monday that because Jones refused to turn over documents ordered by the courts, including financial records, he was guilty by default, the New York Times reported.
The ruling combines with three previous rulings in Texas to grant the families of the Sandy Hook shooting victims four victories in four defamation lawsuits against Jones.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru and Peter Szekely in New York; editing by Grant McCool)
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