‘There’s a consequence’: Chris Murphy warns conspiracy theorists against spreading lies like Alex Jones
The man who represented Newtown as a congressman and represents it as a Connecticut U.S. Senator explained to Raw Story on Thursday how justice for InfoWars conspiracy theorist Alex Jones could send a message to others spreading dangerous lies.
Alex Jones was found guilty of defaming the parents of one of the victims by falsely claiming that the mass shooting did not happen and was a hoax that was staged. As the jury was presented evidence while deciding on the extent of monetary damages to award the parents, Alex Jones was caught lying after his attorney turned over the entire contents of his cell phone, which directly contradict sworn testimony Jones gave in a deposition and repeated in court.
The attorney for the family said he will cooperate in turning the evidence over to the Department of Justice and House Select Committee Investigating the Jan. 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Sen. Chris Murphy discussed the trial with Raw Story on Capitol Hill on Thursday.
READ: ‘Worst witness of all time’: Legal experts can’t stop laughing at Alex Jones
At the time of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, Murphy was spending his last month representing the town as a Democrat in Congress. After he was sworn into the U.S. Senate weeks later, he quickly began calling for justice for the Sandy Hook families.
And he escalated his calls for an assault weapons ban.
“Kids would be alive today if the law we are proposing today was in place,” Murphy said alongside Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) at a January 2013 press conference. Feinstein authored the 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban that the ten-GOP controlled Congress allowed to sunset in 2004.
"It's hard to over-hype how damaging Alex Jones and his conspiracy operation have been to these families," Murphy told Raw Story on Thursday.
"It's a really awful existence that they've been forced to lead," he explained. “I’m rooting for him to finally be held accountable."
Murphy was asked whether he hopes this sends a message to QAnon and others spreading far-right lies.
"You've got to understand there's a consequence to the lies you spread and when you have knowledge that they're going to end up hurting innocent people," Murphy said. "You have to — you should consider the legal consequences."
With additional reporting by Matt Laslo.