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Texas appeals court reduces Alex Jones defamation damages by over $40 million

The ruling cuts punitive damages under a state statutory cap, though Jones continues to face more than $1 billion in separate defamation liabilities.

Updated Aug 24, 2026 · 02:15 UTC3 reports

The short version

A Texas appeals court reduced the punitive damages portion of a defamation award against Alex Jones from over $40 million to $1.5 million to align with state caps.
The decision leaves roughly $6 million intact in the Texas lawsuit brought by the parents of a Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victim without overturning the defamation finding.
Jones still faces a $1.25 billion judgment from a separate Connecticut defamation lawsuit, and victims' families have not yet collected payments amid continuing appeals and bankruptcy proceedings.

The Texas Third Court of Appeals threw out the majority of a nearly $50 million award, reducing punitive damages to $1.5 million to adhere to the state's statutory cap of $750,000 per plaintiff.[Associated Press · ABC News · ABC News]
The Texas ruling leaves approximately $6 million intact from the lawsuit filed by Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, whose 6-year-old son Jesse was killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting.[Associated Press · ABC News · ABC News]
The appellate decision did not overturn the underlying finding of defamation against Jones.[Associated Press · ABC News]
Jones remains subject to an intact $1.25 billion defamation judgment in Connecticut, where an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court was previously denied.[Associated Press · ABC News · ABC News]
Sandy Hook families have not collected payments from Jones as he continues to appeal judgments and challenge the bankruptcy liquidation of Free Speech Systems.[Associated Press · ABC News · ABC News]
A proposed licensing deal permitting satirical outlet The Onion to acquire and operate Infowars assets remains on hold amid Jones' ongoing appeals.[Associated Press · ABC News · ABC News]

The final amount Jones will ultimately pay remains uncertain as he plans an appeal to the Texas Supreme Court to contest the remaining damages and continues bankruptcy proceedings.[ABC News]
The resolution of the asset transfer and intellectual property licensing of Infowars to The Onion is pending the conclusion of related legal appeals.[Associated Press · ABC News]