The father of one of the 19 children killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012 testified Tuesday against conspiracy theorist and InfoWars host Alex Jones, claiming one of the host’s followers urinated on his son’s grave.
Mark Barden, the father of seven-year-old Daniel Barden, told a courtroom that Jones and his podcast are responsible for an onslaught of hate and vitriol directed at his family after the deadly mass shooting.
According to a reporter from Huffington Post in the lawsuit, Barden said Jones’ comments prompted one of his followers to allegedly urinate on Daniel’s grave, according to a letter sent to the Connecticut family.
Other letters received by the Bardens promised similar actions, while one person even threatened to dig up Daniel’s grave to prove there was no body.
Mark Barden wiped away tears in court Tuesday during testimony recounting the horrors his family faced after Daniel Barden was killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School
Daniel Barden was just seven years old when a gunman walked into the Newton, Connecticut elementary school and killed 26 people
Daniel was a “compassionate” boy who loved to show affection to the people he loved, according to his father, Mark Barden
“This is such a holy and sacred place to my family and to hear that people desecrated it and urinated on it and threatened to dig it up, I don’t know how to articulate to you how that feels,” shared The bard. jury. “But that’s where we are.”
Jones, who is currently facing defamation charges related to comments about the shooting that killed 26 people.
The InfoWars host has repeatedly stated that he believes the shooting was staged, no children were killed and that the parents are all hired actors.
Jones has already lost three lawsuits related to his comments.
Video played in court showed moments of Alex Jones spewing baseless lies that the Sandy Hook school shooting was a hoax
Alex Jones left Connecticut before the end of the trial, saying he was ‘done’ with saying sorry
Families of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting have faced cruelty from conspiracy theorists in the 10 years since the shooting, thanks in part to lies claiming it was a hoax
Mark and his wife Jackie, Daniel’s mother, are just two of the more than 15 family members who have testified against Jones during the hearings.
Jackie said Tuesday that hoax believers began harassing her family weeks after their son died. The harassment has not stopped in the 10 years since the massacre.
The mother said that in addition to leaving one of their children dead, the shooting and the threats that followed have left their other children forever filled with anxiety.
“It’s horrible to think that your 20-year-old daughter is scared,” Jackie said.
Jacqueline Barden testifies during the Alex Jones Sandy Hook defamation case at Connecticut Superior Court in Waterbury, Conn., Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2022. The Barden family lost their son Daniel in the school shooting
Jacqueline Barden takes a break while testifying during the Alex Jones Sandy Hook defamation trial at Connecticut Superior Court in Waterbury, Connecticut, Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2022. The Barden family lost their son Daniel in the school shooting
Jackie and Mark say their older daughter is filled with anxiety after losing her brother in a shooting and facing years of harassment from conspiracy theorists
Throughout this lawsuit and other lawsuits related to Jones’ words and actions, families have stated that they have received threats and malice.
Some parents and siblings claimed that they have received rape and death threats and have had personal confrontations with theorists who claim that they are all ‘crisis actors’.
At least one family member said they received pictures of dead children from conspiracy theorists who wanted to frighten and frighten them.
The mother of another boy killed in the shooting, Ben Wheeler, said in court she had a frightening interaction at a conference on gun violence.
Francine Wheeler pauses to wipe away tears while testifying during the Alex Jones Sandy Hook defamation case at Connecticut Superior Court in Waterbury, Conn. Tuesday, October 4, 2022
Francine Wheeler told the jury that a woman approached her and called her a liar and claimed the whole situation was a hoax.
“It’s a whole other thing when people take everything about your boy who’s gone and your surviving child and your husband and everything you’ve ever done in your life that’s on the internet and harassing you and making fun of you,” she said.
In 2021, a judge found Jones liable for spreading the dangerous lies among his rather large fan base.
The judge said at the time that Jones’ actions caused harm to the parents and siblings who initiated the lawsuit.
Current litigation concerns how much Jones must pay.
The jury is hearing testimony from parents and family members of those killed to assess how much Free Speech Systems, InfoWars’ parent company, will pay in damages.
This experiment is similar Texas case filed by parents of 6-year-old Sandy Hook victim Jesse Lewis.
In August, a jury awarded more than $45 million in damages to Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis for comments he made on his Austin-based show.
In that trial, parents echoed the sentiments of parents in the ongoing trial.
A father said in court that summer that Jones made his life ‘hell’ with his comments about the shooting that claimed his child’s life.
The conspiracy theorist has acknowledged that the shooting in Newton, Connecticut happened, but maintains to this day that the parents and families involved are pushing an agenda against free speech and gun rights.
However, it is far from an excuse.
Earlier in the current trial, Jones called a lawyer for one of the family’s ‘an ambulance chasers’ and told the judge he is ‘done saying I’m sorry’.
Attorney Norm Pattis, representing Alex Jones, speaks with Judge Barbara Bellis during Alex Jones’ Sandy Hook defamation proceedings at Connecticut Superior Court in Waterbury, Conn., Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2022
On Tuesday, Jones’ attorney said the InfoWars host left the state and had no further plans to testify again.
Jones told reporters outside the Connecticut courthouse earlier in the day that he may be found in contempt of court by the judge ‘not because I’m guilty, but because she said if I tell the truth, she’s going to put me in Waterbury jail in six months.’
The judge in this case has tried to limit Jones’ testimony because he has already been found guilty.
Jones was found responsible for his repeated violations of the court, including the fact that he ignored a court order by sharing financial documents with the plaintiffs.
The plaintiffs’ lawyers are expected to finish their final arguments on Wednesday.