Alex Jones Must Pay $473 Million Punitive Damages

• Judge Barbara Bellis ordered Alex Jones to pay $473 million in punitive damages on Thursday. 
• This is in addition to the nearly $1 billion verdict that the jury ordered Jones to pay in the case. 
• Jones was found liable by default for spreading a lie that the Sandy Hook shooting was a hoax. 

A Connecticut judge on Thursday ordered Alex Jones to pay $473 million in punitive damages to the families of victims who died in the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting, according to multiple reports. 

This is in addition to the nearly $1 billion the jury in the case ordered Jones to pay the plaintiffs last month, for spreading a lie that the shooting was staged by the government as a pretense to restrict gun rights. 

Throughout the nearly one-month trial, themore than a dozen plaintiffs in the case took the stand and testified about how s-called Sandy Hook hoaxers harassed them for years online and even stalked their homes. 

Jones lost the case by default last year when he refused to turn over financial documents about his company, Infowars. In doing so, he also lost the ability to argue in court his belief that his comments about Sandy Hook were First Amendment-protected free speech. Jones’ attorney, Norm Pattis, did not immediately return Insider’s request for comment on Thursday. 

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.