Sandy Hook parents confront Alex Jones at trial, and how the First Amendment factors into defamation

Published August 3, 2022 at 12:40 PM EDT

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Neil Heslin, father of 6-year-old Sandy Hook shooting victim Jesse Lewis, becomes emotional during his testimony during the trial for Alex Jones. (Briana Sanchez/Austin American-Statesman via AP, Pool)

Texas Monthly senior editor Dan Solomon joins Here & Now‘s Robin Young to discuss the emotional testimony in court from Scarlett Lewis and Neil Heslin, whose 6-year-old son Jesse was killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting. They are suing Texas-based broadcaster Alex Jones for sowing conspiracy theories about the shooting.

And, Elon University law professor Enrique Armijo discusses Alex Jones’ claim that the defamation lawsuits against him infringe on his free speech rights. But Armijo says “the right to say false things is not absolute.”

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.