Thursday morning, Sandy Hook conspiracy theorist Alex Jones once again failed to appear at a deposition for a lawsuit filed against him four years ago in Connecticut.
Families of victims killed in the December 2012 Newtown school shooting sued him in 2018 for defamation — Jones once said of the tragedy that everything about it was “fake.” Attorneys for the plaintiffs showed up at the location of the scheduled deposition Thursday and were told Jones wasn’t coming.
“I wanted to inform you that Alex Jones didn't appear in court today for his deposition,” a spokesperson named Artrice Shepherd wrote in an email on behalf of the plaintiffs.
In acourt document filed after Jones missed a scheduled deposition Wednesday, attorneys for Jones said he wouldn’t appear at a deposition until he was cleared by his doctor.
“The physician subsequently arranged for a comprehensive medical workup to be conducted for Mr. Jones on March 23, 2022,” read the filing signed by attorneys Norm Pattis and Cameron Atkinson. “The physician remains firm in his initial recommendation that Mr. Jones neither attend a deposition nor return to work until the results of the comprehensive medical workup are returned, and he opines that Mr. Jones stands at serious risk of harm.”
While a judge in the case has doubted the validity of Jones’ undisclosed illness, she did add a caveat to her order that Jones appear at Thursday’s deposition. Judge Barbara Bellis said he should go unless he had to be hospitalized.
“Of course, if, as [Jones’ doctor] indicates, he develops escalating symptoms such that he is hospitalized, that change in circumstance would excuse his attendance at the court-ordered deposition,” Belliswrote Wednesday.
She made herself available in case attorneys wanted an emergency hearing to take up Jones’ deposition absence.
The plaintiffs have until next Thursday, March 31, to question Jones under oath. That’s the deadline for fact witness deposition and plaintiff compliance in the case.
