Attorney Chris Mattei, it seems, was exactly right.
During one of the many heated exchanges from Alex Jones’ day in court Thursday, Mattei suggested he caught Jones plugging a landing page where people can make cryptocurrency donations to his Infowars channel.
Jones was called to testify Thursday as part of his defamation damages trial in Connecticut. When questioning moved to crypto, he listed the full url where the donation page can be found.
“Was that a little advertisement just there,” Mattei asked.
“Well, we’re fighting the deep state,” Jones responded. “We need money.”
A few minutes after Mattei said:
“That will end up as a clip on your show tonight. Your advertisement for your cryptocurrency page.”
Less than 24 hours after the volley, Jones had done just that. A nearly minute-long advertisement featuring the exchange, with the page’s address emblazoned across the bottom, was in regular rotation on Jones’ Infowars channel.
Alex Jones held a press conference outside the courthouse on the sixth day of the Sandy Hook defamation damages trial at Connecticut Superior Court in Waterbury, Conn. Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022.
Christian Abraham/Hearst Connecticut MediaThe page offers visitors a chance to donate using one of eight forms of cryptocurrency.
“Please note that your sponsorship goes directly to supporting the Infowars Team in the fight for the truth against tyranny,” the page reads.
It does not, however, say that the donations go directly to Jones’ personal account. Last week, corporate representative Brittany Paz testified that’s where donations go. Thursday, Jones confirmed that with jurors. He said $9 million has been donated so far, all but $60,000 of which has been transferred to Free Speech Systems, the company he owns that operates Inforwars.
Jones is on trial in Connecticut to determine how much money he owes to eight families of Sandy Hook shooting victims and one former FBI agent. Jones has already been found guilty of defamation. He’s already been ordered to pay $49 million in relation to a Sandy Hook defamation trial in Texas.
Jones was found guilty of defamation in three separate trials connected to the Sandy Hook shooting. Beginning hours after the shooting and continuing for years, Jones spread lies on Infowars that the shooting was a “giant hoax,” that parents and slain children were actors and that it was a “false flag” operation designed to give the federal government reason to attack the Second Amendment.
At the heart of the trial is how the Sandy Hook coverage impacted Infowars’ revenue and web traffic. Mattei has tried to show jurors the coverage led to massive growth in profits and popularity for Jones, while causing perpetual grief for the families.
David Wheeler, father of Benjamin Wheeler, stop to wipe tears away as he testifies during the Alex Jones Sandy Hook defamation damages trial at Connecticut Superior Court in Waterbury, Conn. Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022.
Christian Abraham/Hearst Connecticut MediaJones has maintained he does not make money off the Sandy Hook coverage — a statement Judge Barbara Bellis has barred him from making in court. He has, though, repeated it on the courthouse steps multiple times.
During her testimony last week, Paz — who was picked to represent the company by Jones — said the entire Infowars operation is designed to drive visitors to the web store. Jones tried to distance himself from Paz’s comments during an impromptu news conference outside the Waterbury courthouse Wednesday.
“She came to Austin for three weeks. We opened everything up to her,” Jones said. “I don’t dislike her. I’m not attacking her. But she got up there and just had no idea what she was talking about.”
Paz told jurors she requested a number of items from Infowars to prepare for the trial, including Jones’ deposition, but did not receive all the material.
Jones has not been barred from speaking about the case outside of the courtroom.
Attorneys for the plaintiff families and Alex Jones could not be reached for comment Friday.
