Alex Jones seeks venue change in Sandy Hook defamation cases
(Jose Luis Magana | AP file photo) In this Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018, file photo, Alex Jones, the right-wing conspiracy theorist, walks the corridors of Capitol Hill after listening to testimony on Capitol Hill in Washington. On Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2018, Twitter confirmed it has removed accounts linked to conspiracy-monger Alex Jones and Infowars.
Bridgeport, Conn. • Lawyers for Infowars host Alex Jones have asked a Connecticut judge to move defamation cases against him to another part of the state as he defends discussions on his web show about the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre being a hoax.
The requests filed Wednesday ask that the cases be moved to Windham County. Jones' lawyers say pretrial publicity has made it impossible to get a fair trial in Bridgeport, in the same county where 20 first-graders and six educators were killed in Newtown in 2012.
Lawsuits by families of eight victims and a first responder say they've been subjected to harassment and death threats from Jones' followers. The families' lawyer says they will oppose moving the trial.
Jones cites First Amendment rights and says he believes the shooting happened.
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