$100 Million Sought in Alex Jones' Defamation Trial from Sandy Hook families

A Texas jury began hearing testimony on Tuesday in a civil trial against conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. The defamation trial is over comments he made on his news platform Infowars.com about the victims of the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. The lives of 20 children and seven adults were taken that day but Jones repeatedly called the casualty event a “hoax.”

According to a report from the Associated Press, lawyers for the parents of the victims are expected to ask for more than $100 million in "compensatory and punitive damages."

Although Jones attempted to seek bankruptcy protections to protect his assets, a federal judge dismissed his petition in June. The Associated Press reported at the time, "The judge's action allows the parents' defamation lawsuits against Jones to continue in Texas and Connecticut, where trials are pending on how much he should pay families after judges in both states found Jones and his companies liable for damages."

Jones' attorneys have recently claimed he is suffering from a medical condition and it was uncertain if he would be attending. However during a short break at trial Tuesday, he emerged from the courtroom wearing a duct tape mask that read “Save the 2nd” and after removing it he spoke to the press for over 6 minutes, here's a look at some of that footage:

One of the attorneys representing the families in Texas, also spoke with the press Tuesday stating, "We’re very glad the day is here. We’re looking forward to telling our clients’ story.”

The Texas trial is expected to last two weeks. Jones is also facing a separate defamation case for the families of the 2012 massacre in Newtown, Connecticut in which damages have yet to be awarded.