During a tough cross-examination, the attorney for the Sandy Hook family reveals Alex Jones' deception

Texas courtroom

It was shown in a Texas courtroom on Wednesday that right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones was dishonest when being cross-examined by an attorney for Sandy Hook parents and his responses were fact-checked in real-time. Jones's parents, Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis won a default judgment against him earlier this year, and the jury hearing the case will determine how much Jones has to pay them. Heslin and Lewis' lawyer has requested the jury to award $150 million in damages.

Cross-examination of Jones by Mark Bankston

Wednesday's cross-examination of Jones by Mark Bankston, the plaintiffs' attorney, did not go well for the defense witness. Moments later, Bankston revealed that the information he had just obtained proved Jones had lied about the Sandy Hook shooting when he claimed throughout the discovery process that he had not texted about it in 2012.

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Bankston’s claim

Bankston claimed that Jones' lawyer sent him two years' worth of cell phone information by accident, including every text message the defendant had written and received. A review of the text messages from Bankston's phone showed that Jones had indeed discussed the Sandy Hook shooting with a friend.

I know you lied to me because of the text texts regarding Sandy Hook that you sent to me," Bankston stated. A text message discussion between Bankston and Jones about Sandy Hook was displayed to Jones. In contrast, Jones claimed that he had never viewed the texts in question.

Jones had examined Sandy’s phone

On the day of the trial's discovery phase, Jones had admitted to the court that he had examined Sandy’s phone for texts related to Sandy Hook, but he asserted that he "did not mislead." According to Jones, 26 people were slain when a gunman opened fire at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, in 2012. Since being sued, Jones has admitted that the shooting did take place.

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"Kind of psychosis"

Jones claimed in a 2019 sworn declaration that he believed it was manufactured because of a "kind of psychosis." On Wednesday, Jones testified in court that he believes the Sandy Hook tragedy occurred, stating it was "100 percent true."Cross-examination on Wednesday was remarkable for another reason: Jones was asked about Maya Guerra Gamble's connection to pedophilia and human trafficking.

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Jones’s engagement

Despite Jones' denials, Bankston showed the jury a clip from an Infowars video in which he said Jones had engaged in such conduct. Jones said that Gamble's previous work for Child Protective Services had been "exposed" for "working for paedophiles" in a video posted on YouTube.

When Gamble viewed a screengrab from the video in court on Wednesday, she chuckled. Her office had not responded to an earlier request for comment about Infowars' attacks on her in such terms.

Bankston inquired of Jones

What do you think of this image? Is the person on the left our judge??" Bankston inquired of Jones, and Jones responded. Jones agreed, saying that it was indeed the case. It was revealed Tuesday that lawyers for the plaintiffs will seek sanctions against Jones for being dishonest throughout the trial. And on Tuesday, Gamble chastised Jones for breaking his promise, to tell the truth a second time.

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Gamble’s remarks

Tuesday, Gamble remarked, "You are already under oath, to tell the truth." "In just those two instances, you've already breached that pledge twice today. It seems pointless to remind you that you are under oath, to tell the truth during your testimony. I'm back, though."

Sandy Hook families sued Jones

Gamble clarified to him on Wednesday, "This is not your program." The defense rested its case following Jones' testimony on Wednesday, and the final arguments began. A verdict on damages for the Sandy Hook families could be reached as early as this week by the jury. Multiple Sandy Hook families sued Jones and won default judgments; this trial is the first of three that will determine how much Jones must pay them.