The 1st Amendment and Alex Jones


I'm pretty much a 1st Amendment absolutist. I've been a card-carrying member of the ACLU for over 40 years, to which we've contributed tens of thousands of dollars. I even supported the right of American Nazis to march in Skokie.
But Alex Jones crossed a line in his Sandy Hook lies--they weren't just obnoxious speech, they were broadcast terrorism and they had terroristic consequences. The SCOTUS says the 1st Amendment doesn't protect shouting "fire" in a crowded movie theater. That's reckless endangerment.
Jones recklessly and selfishly took what remained of the suffering, diminished lives of parents who lost their children away from them and made them fear every day for their lives. For that, he should pay. Giving up his immense wealth won't undo the years of suffering and fear he inflicted on bereaved families, and the pain he'll feel by losing his wealth is in no way commensurate with the suffering he inflicted on others in order to gain that wealth.
Let him live on his Social Security payments. Any other income should be garnished until he pays the jury awards in full.

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