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The families of victims who died in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting have rejected a settlement offer by Infowars host Alex Jones, who they accused of defaming them by claiming the killings never actually took place.
Jones had on Tuesday offered each of the 13 plaintiffs a settlement sum of $120,000, according to court filings seen by Insider. "Mr. Jones extends his heartfelt apology for any distress his remarks caused," the offers read.
Lawyers for the relatives subsequently filed to reject Jones' offers on Wednesday, with the filing calling them "a transparent and desperate attempt by Alex Jones to escape a public reckoning under oath with his deceitful, profit-driven campaign against the plaintiffs and the memory of their loved ones lost at Sandy Hook."
Jones, a far-right conspiracy theorist, had baselessly claimed that the Sandy Hook shooting was a "giant hoax" staged with "crisis actors" as a ploy to support opposition to the Second Amendment. Six teachers and 20 first-graders were killed by a 20-year-old gunman in the tragedy at the school in Newton, Connecticut.
Jones later admitted in a sworn deposition that the shooting did take place and claimed that a "form of psychosis" had led him to believe and tout his bogus theories about the incident.
In November, a Connecticut judge found Jones liable by default for damages when he refused to turn over evidence. The amount he must pay has not been determined.
On March 24, Jones failed to appear for his court-ordered deposition, claiming to be sick. However, Judge Barbara Bellis refused to excuse him, noting complaints from the relatives that Jones was still healthy enough to appear on his live show in the days prior.
Jones also faces trial later this year over separate defamation lawsuits in Texas filed by families of the Sandy Hook victims, for which he has also been found liable for damages.
Lawyers for Jones did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
