After a Connecticut judge said that Infowars host Alex Jones would be fined $25,000 for each weekday he did not show up to a deposition in a lawsuit by the relatives of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, Jones' lawyers said on Thursday that he will appear before the court.
According to his attorney, Norman Pattis, Jones agreed to appear at a deposition on April 11, per the Associated Press.
The fines are set to begin on Friday and will cost Jones $25,000. They are also scheduled to increase by an additional $25,000 each weekday that he doesn't show up to the deposition.
Jones was originally scheduled to appear before a court for the deposition last week in Texas, but did not, citing health reasons. He then went on to broadcast his show from his home instead.
"The court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant, Alex Jones, willfully and in bad faith violated without justification several clear court orders requiring his attendance at his depositions," Judge Barbara Bellis said, according to the Associated Press.
Pattis had asked the judge to not fine Jones and asked the Connecticut Supreme Court to hear their appeal of the fines on Thursday, although, there was no ruling on his requests.
"The judge's order is shocking and an insult to the medical doctor who advised Alex not to attend court proceedings," Pattis said in an email to The Associated Press. "We regard the order as lawless and unprecedented."
Last week, Judge Bellis said that Jones can't continue to record his show while citing health reasons to avoid showing up for the deposition.
"Mr. Jones cannot unilaterally decide to continue to engage in his broadcasts, but refuse to participate in a deposition," Bellis said.
In November, Jones was found liable for damages to the families of the victims. The families are now suing him for defamation after he called the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting a "hoax."
Christopher Mattei, a lawyer for the Sandy Hook families, said that the fines are intended to get Jones to appear for the deposition, after he has not shown up a number of times. The lawyers for the Sandy Hook families had requested that Jones be arrested for not showing up, but the judge denied that request.
"So what we've tried to do ... is change that calculus, make it clear to Mr. Jones that the penalties that will accrue to him as a result of his further noncompliance are not worth it and that he should sit for deposition in order to avoid them," Mattei said.
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