Connecticut Post
@connpost
Followers
132K
Following
196
Media
5K
Statuses
148K
Covering southwestern Connecticut since 1883. Facebook: https://t.co/JhiF0fvKTA Newsletters: https://t.co/J28JcXROxd Subscribe: https://t.co/DtWJsHiWhJ
Bridgeport, Connecticut
Joined September 2008
Alex Jones called the 2012 massacre of 26 first-graders and educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School “a giant hoax” and “completely fake with actors.”. The parents of two children killed in the shooting sued him for defamation and won.
1K
4K
15K
A complaint filed by the families’ lawyers in Connecticut Superior Court says “There is no possible reasonable explanation for this conduct.”. One of the images appears to depict a minion illustrated as filet mignon — with the caption “filet minion.”
481
3K
10K
Lawyers for Sandy Hook families say Remington, the manufacturer of the AR-15-style rifle used in the 2012 school shooting, included in its documents tens of thousands of irrelevant images — some of which were random cartoons.
607
3K
5K
In 2017, a car mechanic went to retrieve art pieces that his friend had found in a dumpster at a barn. Unbeknownst to him, the art had a price tag in the millions.
182
1K
4K
Charli D’Amelio went viral on TikTok just two months after she started posting videos in 2019. Now she’s the app’s biggest influencer with a whopping 123.5 million followers.
303
237
4K
During pretrial, Jones refused to submit documents, made public threats and implied that the trials were a sham, the parents’ attorney said. A Texas court ruled Jones had acted in “bad faith” and that he’d lost by default for not giving the documents.
124
568
3K
Other images are simpler cartoons, plus 1,521 video files of gender reveal parties and the ice bucket challenge, according to the complaint. The families’ lawyers say the company is trying to delay the case.
74
590
3K
Sandy Hook families — and an FBI agent who responded to the scene — who sued conspiracy extremist Alex Jones in Connecticut have won their defamation case by default. Jones had called the massacre “a giant hoax” and “completely fake with actors.”.
317
933
3K
The parents, who sued Jones for more than $1 million, will have their cases sent to a jury to determine damages.
111
399
2K
Lawyers for nine families suing Remington over the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting moved to seal confidential records of five first-graders, which were subpoenaed by the bankrupted gunmaker.
718
1K
2K
Two Sandy Hook parents have gone into security-protected isolation after several unspecified "encounters" during a Texas trial to determine how much Alex Jones owes them in damages, their attorney said.
283
1K
2K
Jones also faces a defamation lawsuit in Connecticut by six families who lost loved ones in the Sandy Hook massacre. The judge in that case has also threatened default against Jones if he doesn’t comply.
53
413
2K
A Connecticut man purchased a carrying case for his passport and COVID-19 vaccination card on Amazon. But when it arrived, he got something he didn’t order: a fake vaccine card.
555
1K
2K
Horror fans might already know of Ed and Lorraine Warren, the late paranormal investigators featured in “The Conjuring” films. Here are some of their most infamous investigations, as seen on the big screen.
33
689
2K
Conspiracy theorist and InfoWars host Alex Jones sent child pornography to the lawyers for the families of the Sandy Hook tragedy, their lawyers said.
988
1K
2K
The families’ lawyers say they have “no explanation” for why Remington subpoenaed the Newtown Public School District for the academic, attendance and disciplinary records of the children. The company also requested records for the four slain teachers.
393
897
2K
A lawyer for the Sandy Hook parents suing Alex Jones revealed he was sent copies of emails and text messages by Jones’ legal team. "Your attorneys messed up and sent me a digital copy of every text," the lawyer said to Jones.
392
526
2K
Conspiracy extremist Alex Jones lost a defamation case against eight Sandy Hook families, who sued him for saying the massacre was “staged.”. The families have now rejected Jones’ offer to settle ahead of a trial to determine damages, court documents show.
168
413
2K
While in an ambulance, a 23-year-old man called his mom, explained what had happened to him and said he was feeling OK, a lawsuit says. Hours later, he was found dead at a Yale hospital.
245
858
2K
Instead of pain-relieving fentanyl, dozens of women say they were injected with salt water during a procedure at a Yale clinic, a lawsuit alleges. “It feels like somebody’s stabbing you through your vagina. It was horrific,” one woman said.
109
796
2K
Jones offered to settle with each of the families for $120,000, according to court documents. In their rejection, the families said the “so-called offer is a transparent and desperate attempt by Alex Jones to escape a public reckoning.”. 📰 📸 AP
83
320
1K
The fossil was actually found in 1933 in Nebraska and was housed at a Connecticut museum for decades, officials said. But no scientist had undertaken a study of the fossil remains of the bird that roamed the earth about 11 million years ago.
68
527
1K
Repeated threats from Jones’ followers — egged on by his original claims that their son didn’t actually die — have caused both Scarlett Lewis and Neil Heslin to experience PTSD and anxiety, a forensic therapist testified Monday. 📸 Sergio Flores.📰
135
546
1K
Jones has repeatedly testified that he doesn’t use email and couldn’t find any messages related to Sandy Hook on his phone during the trial’s discovery phase. “Do you know what perjury is?” attorney Mark Bankston asked Jones.
85
343
1K
“Do you think I’m an actress?” Scarlett Lewis asked Alex Jones, who has referred to Sandy Hook parents as “crisis actors.”. “No, I don’t think you’re an actress,” Jones said.
147
451
1K
“The simple and depressing truth is that they are in fear of their lives,” the parents’ lawyer said. However, “Neil and Scarlett are committed to finishing this trial because this moment is bigger than just them,” he added.
27
351
1K
When the mechanic originally saw the pieces, his first thought was to hang them in his indoor skateboard park for Halloween. But after finding out about Hines, he knew the world had to see his paintings, sculptures and small drawings. 📰 📸 Contributed
24
238
1K
In hospital security video footage, the man appears to fall asleep and multiple emergency personnel walk by him but don’t check on him, the suit states. 📰
34
326
1K
The battle to keep the records private comes as both sides prepare for trial. In July, Remington was accused of handing over 18K “random cartoons” and 15K irrelevant pictures as part of its pretrial data requested by the families.
114
403
1K
The complaint says Remington told plaintiffs that their document release would be “substantially complete.” . “So, if a picture really is worth a thousand words, here are some pictures to give the Court a sense of the ‘substance and breadth,’” reads the complaint.
29
332
1K
The paintings will be on view starting in May and will be on sale for the first time — though there are some pieces the mechanic won’t sell, he said. “My purpose is to get Hines into the history books,” he said.
28
224
1K
After the court went into a short recess, the Sandy Hook parents’ lawyer was heard suggesting the phone could go “to law enforcement” and saying there would be "months of fallout" from its contents.
69
244
953
Indoor gatherings? Still risky without a mask, experts say. Outdoor events? Experts say the risk is low, but you should be mindful of how close you are to others for prolonged periods and if it’s truly outdoors or partially enclosed.
574
588
1K
Yale Ph.D student Matt Amodio’s 38-game winning streak on Jeopardy! has come to a close after coming in third tonight. He leaves the show with $1,518,601 in earnings, the third-highest in the show’s history for non-tournament play.
63
235
1K
Hines died in 2016 at age 96 and has two living sons. He'd been storing his art at the barn. 📰 📸 Contributed
42
189
1K
The lawsuit itself — which has made the rounds, including being turned down by the Supreme Court — is back in trial court after Remington’s bankruptcy, with jury selection scheduled for September. Some background ⬇️.
56
247
906
The lawsuit claims Yale showed “carelessness and recklessness” in failing to prevent one of its nurses from stealing fentanyl over at least five months.
23
318
963
The art was created by Francis Hines, an abstract expressionist master, a curator said. He was famous for “wrapping,” an art technique in which fabric is tightly wrapped around an object. 📰 📸 Contributed
20
211
949
Lewis said Jones and other Sandy Hook deniers have made it harder to grieve. “In some way, you've impacted every day of my life, negatively, almost since Jesse’s murder,” she said to Jones. Credit: Briana Sanchez/Austin American-Statesman
22
209
849
The patients and their spouses are suing Yale because it didn’t investigate the reports of patients’ pain, minimized them or attributed them to the unavailability of an anesthesiologist, the lawsuit says.
37
293
897
"I pulled it out of this dumpster and I fell in love with it. I made a connection with it," the mechanic said. 📰 📸 Contributed
11
128
848
Some of Hines' “wrapping” paintings can be sold at around $22,000 and his drawings at around $4,500, the curator said. That means all of the pieces are collectively worth "millions" of dollars. 📰 📸 Contributed
18
183
868
It was late at night when Unit 1106 of the Champlain Towers South started shaking. As the family evacuated, they came to a realization: If they had been 15 feet to the left, they could have perished. This is their story. 📸AP.
44
393
847
Just after a WNBA semifinals win, former UConn great Diana Taurasi had one more event to be at:. Over 300 miles away, her wife Penny Taylor was getting ready to deliver their daughter.
116
160
835
A federal bankruptcy judge voiced concerns over the way Alex Jones proposed to use the bankruptcy process to pay damages in three defamation cases he lost to Sandy Hook families, without Jones himself filing for bankruptcy.
107
493
703
Nine families who lost loved ones in the Sandy Hook massacre have reached a $73 million settlement with defunct gunmaker Remington.
165
369
801
Heslin once had someone fire shots at his home and vehicle, while Lewis now sleeps next to a gun and knife, the forensic therapist said. 📸 AP.📰
35
248
748
After being alerted to the issue, Amazon informed law enforcement that the listing was designed to bypass the site's detection algorithm, and it "removed the listing and flagged the seller," a lawmaker said.
46
219
770
“My last conversation with Billy he said everything was going to be OK and he would see me tomorrow, but tomorrow has never come for us,” his mother said. 📸 Contributed.📰
51
170
804
Lewis spoke about the fear she’s had after experiences with Sandy Hook deniers. “It’s not only fear for myself,” she said. “It’s fear for my surviving son, it’s fear for the other people brought into this, family and friends.”.
20
192
732
The fake card — the man told the state attorney general — was “a little bigger” than the real thing and included the CDC logo. 📰 📷 CT Attorney General’s Office
71
231
725
Former UConn teammates Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi have made history in their fifth appearance at the Summer Games, becoming the first basketball players to win five Olympic gold medals. Here’s an interactive look at their legacies.
21
208
745
The two parents are expected to testify Tuesday about the impact Jones has had on their lives. Jones is also expected to take the stand in his own defense. "We’re going to show the jury who the real Alex Jones is," the parents' attorney said.
46
197
665
Jones faces a similar process in Texas where the parents of two slain Sandy Hook children won defamation cases against him. One father said "it was never about the money — it was about principle," adding that Jones’ apology “doesn’t matter.". 📰 📸 AP
9
114
678
On the stand, Lewis described the pain of losing her son Jesse. “When you lose a limb, you feel it,” she said. “It’s always there, but it’s not. He should be here, but he’s not.”.
8
146
670
A nurse then checks on the man for the first time in seven hours. At this point, the suit states, he has no pulse, his skin is a blue-gray color and his pupils are fixed and dilated. 📰
33
238
706
The judge in this trial has already found Jones liable for defamation of two Sandy Hook parents by default. She said Jones didn’t comply with the rules of discovery in the case.
16
142
632
Alex Jones’ legal troubles aren’t over yet. A third defamation awards trial in Texas in December could add even more to the sum he owes Sandy Hook families.
36
185
598
📍 Brookfield, CT. A murder case in a small town was the first time in U.S. history a defendant (who in this case stabbed a man to death) claimed he was possessed by the devil. And well, the Warrens backed up the claim. The judge, however, did not.
4
80
717
“Hold it in, babe. I’m coming,” Taurasi told Taylor on ESPN — she then made it just in time to be by Taylor’s side early Saturday. The baby girl is the couple’s second child following their son Leo Michael Taurasi-Taylor’s birth in 2018. 📰 📸 Getty
13
103
678
Remington’s lead attorney did not comment specifically on the cartoons. Its lead attorney said the company will respond in coming weeks, “and point out what it believes are incorrect representations, numerous half-truths, and important omissions.”.
37
165
623
In 1936, 15-year-old Anne Fiyalka won a contest. Her prize: Fly in a plane piloted by Amelia Earhart.
11
168
665
The BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants may be “bypassing vaccines and prior infection gathered from natural immunity,” one infectious diseases expert said.
97
321
608
The parents’ attorney showed a message to Jones and the jury where an Infowars producer warned that the site’s COVID coverage was reminiscent of debunked theories Jones spread about Sandy Hook. 📷: Briana Sanchez/Austin American-Statesman
31
138
542
“I am grateful that the court system has responded the way it has to Mr. Jones’ misconduct and refusal to recognize that he was bound to the law like anyone else,” said an attorney representing the families.
29
125
530
A woman who had her eggs retrieved from her ovaries said she was “awake for and aware of the entire procedure.” The embryo, implanted in her wife, miscarried. “All I could think about was, oh my God, I have to do this again,” she said. 📷 Contributed.📰
15
132
569
The 17-year-old isn’t the only one in her family to be in the spotlight. From sister Dixie to their parents, the entire D’Amelio family has gained celebrity status, giving them the title of the “first family of TikTok.”. 📰 📸 Getty
92
69
597
CT resident Megyn Kelly wants to run against Sen. Chris Murphy and 'take your job'
130
84
637
The man had ingested a white powder that he suspected had been laced with fentanyl, the suit states. He was walking, talking and alert after care from firefighters, but was taken to the hospital to prevent toxicity recurrence. 📰
32
190
555
📍 Monroe, CT (sorry, Nutmeggers) . Annabelle was a Raggedy Ann doll that was claimed to have moved on its own and be haunted by the spirit of a young girl. Now it’s the inspiration behind three movies in the franchise and remains at the Warrens’ museum.
14
99
548
A lawyer for the parents of Jesse Lewis, killed in the 2012 massacre, argues Jones should pay $150 million for his “despicable and vile campaign of lies."
112
165
456
With the new subvariants spreading, experts said they either never stopped masking indoors or are back to wearing masks in stores and crowded indoor places.
39
210
442
The Sandy Hook parents who sued Alex Jones for defamation went into security-protected isolation after on-foot and vehicular run-ins, Scarlett Lewis said. In one case, she said, a car that was supposed to be carrying family members was run off the road.
56
280
451
Former UConn men’s basketball coach Kevin Ollie — who was fired in 2018 — has won his arbitration case against the school, which must pay him more than $11 million within 10 days.
25
215
480
When asked why Alex Jones didn’t file for bankruptcy himself, a representative said Alex Jones feared he would lose credibility with listeners and product sales would suffer.
95
272
414
📍 Long Island, NY. The infamous "Amityville Horror" case spawned its own multi-million dollar franchise. In 1975 a family claimed a violent entity drove them from their home, and the Warrens agreed it was haunted. Buuuut further investigations showed it was mostly a hoax.
6
57
499
The families’ rejection of Jones’ settlement offer in Connecticut comes after he failed to appear for two deposition hearings, in defiance of a court order. They called for his arrest until he complies with the deposition order.
7
107
434
In a separate case, Sandy Hook families in Texas and Connecticut have won defamation cases against conspiracy extremist Alex Jones, who called the massacre a “hoax.”.
27
134
421
Toward the end of their descent down 11 floors, Justin and his dad helped an older woman who was having a hard time get down to the first floor. Carrying her, they got her over the rubble. 📸AP
5
87
454
A third woman still wonders if the lack of the opioid affected her ability to conceive. “Did my uterus heal properly? These are questions that I ask myself many times,” she said.
11
81
438
📍 Harrisville, R.I. In 1974, the Warrens made multiple trips to this home to investigate claims of levitating beds and the smell of rotting flesh, as chronicled in the first “The Conjuring” movie. Now, the new owners have opened the house to paranormal investigations 👀
2
57
467
“It may come as a surprise that such a beautiful and nearly complete fossil could go unstudied for almost 100 years,” a curator said.
6
85
442
After years of pain wrought by Alex Jones and Sandy Hook deniers, eight families of victims and a former FBI agent were awarded $965 million.
47
116
364
📍 Southington, CT. Reports are conflicted around the case of a family who claimed to see apparitions and that their son became violent (it’s reported the boy had schizophrenia) but the Warrens investigated this home that inspired the horror classic "A Haunting in Connecticut."
3
54
446
An attorney representing multiple families who lost loved ones in the Sandy Hook massacre said Jones staying out of the bankruptcy filing was “not right,” adding, “they want the benefit of bankruptcy without being in bankruptcy.” .
16
150
350
On the stand, Jones apologized and said he never intentionally “meant to hurt” Lewis. Before arriving at court today, Jones appeared on his radio show and called Lewis’ ex-husband Neil Heslin “slow.” .
57
156
360
For elderly or immunocompromised people, experts said it’s best to stay up-to-date with vaccinations, avoid indoor gatherings and keep wearing a mask. 📷: AP
33
168
375
The issue comes as the state recently rolled out a digital vaccine card it says makes forging the cards more difficult. Other major cities already require proof of vaccination for various activities. 📰 📷 AP
27
86
364
🦖 A preserved, dagger-like claw in Yale’s fossil collection may have belonged to a newly-discovered species of Tyrannosaurus. Surprise: It didn’t have tiny, near-vestigial arms like the T. rex.
26
98
401
This is not the first lawsuit Jones has lost to Sandy Hook families — the parents of two first graders who were killed won a suit in Texas in early October.
19
87
323
🪱 A jacked-up species of earthworm called jumping worms — also known as “sharks of the earth” — is spreading in the Northeast. They have the potential to ravage the landscape and forest ecosystems, a scientist says.
112
194
379
At first, it felt like three gusts of wind, says UConn pitcher Justin Willis. The first was like a normal thunderstorm. The second, similar to Hurricane Sandy. And the third, “like a jet was taking off right above our building.”.
16
172
374
Jones wasn’t in the courtroom during Heslin’s testimony earlier in the day. “Alex was the person with a match who started the fire,” Heslin told the jury. “People are bringing wood to throw on the fire.”.
23
98
330
📍 London. Overseas, the Warrens investigated one of the most notable paranormal cases in London. The Warrens claimed that there was some form of demonic possession occurring with the children, and it became the central plot to “The Conjuring 2.”
2
41
377
A Superior Court judge announced last month that she would take up the question of sanctions against Jones — including a potential default — “based on (Jones’) conduct in this matter to date, including conduct relating to discovery.”.
11
66
309
Experts agree that most people are treating this summer like it’s back to normal. And they aren’t so sure that concerns about BA.5 or the next variant will change anyone’s behavior.
66
149
340
Experts say that the lawsuit is monumental, as it has the potential to change the way gun companies are insured.
18
85
297