A third parent of a killed Sandy Hook child has won a libel lawsuit against US conspiracy theorist Alex Jones who called the murderous 2012 elementary school shooting bogus.

Neil Heslin will join two other parents – Scarlett Lewis and Lenny Pozner – who won separate libel cases against Mr Jones last week, in having his case heard by a jury to determine damages.

On December 14, 2012, 20 children and six adults were shot dead at Sandy Hooks Elementary School, Conn., After a gunman opened fire in one of the worst school shootings in the history of the United States.

Mr Jones, who is the founder of the right-wing website Infowars in Texas, claimed on his radio show and website that the event was “completely bogus with actors,” “synthetic” and a “giant hoax.” by gun control supporters and the general public. media.

He faces a multitude of lawsuits brought by several relatives of the victims. Although he acknowledged the shooting in court documents, he said he had the right to be wrong under the First Amendment.

After the default judgment last week, Mr Jones and his lawyer Nick Pattis noted in a statement that “the First Amendment has been crucified.”

Ruling in Mr. Heslin’s favor, Travis County District Court Judge Maya Guerra Gamble wrote: [Jones’] conduct in this court.

She added: “[A]A growing series of legal warnings, monetary penalties and non-dispositive penalties have all been ineffective in deterring abuse.

According to Bill Ogden, one of the attorneys representing the parents in separate cases against Mr Jones in Texas, Tuesday’s judgment brings families “one step closer to bringing this horrific experiment to a close.”

“We look forward to completing the discovery of the damage caused by Alex Jones and Infowars’ five-year campaign to disseminate harassing disinformation,” Ogden added.

The Texas libel cases are separate from two libel lawsuits filed against Mr Jones and Infowars in Connecticut superior court by eight families of children killed in the Sandy Hook massacre. Judge Barbara Bellis also threatened to issue a default order against Jones if he failed to comply with discovery orders involving the surrender of pre-trial documents.

Mr Jones has lost a series of libel lawsuits related to the shooting. In 2019, he was asked to To pay $ 100,000 (£ 76,000) to the parents of a 6-year-old who was killed in the shooting. He was also banned from Facebook, Twitter and YouTube for hate speech and abusive behavior.

He was too accused last month by U.S. prosecutors for illegally violating U.S. Capitol grounds during the Jan.6 riot by supporters of then-President Donald Trump.