in a statement this evening, the lawyer for jessie lewis' parents note that they are also due another $1.5 million in fines alone for total of $5.6 million and counting, he says. to quote him, they are thrilled with the result and look forward to putting mr. jones' money to good use. mr. jones, on the other hand, will not sleep easy tonight, with punitive damages still to be decided, and multiple additional defamation lawsuits pending. it is clear that mr. jones' time on the american stage is finally coming to an end. now, the question is, is that true? and a more broader discussion as well about misinformation and if it's time to pay the piper, will that song stop in a whole variety of ways? well it stop others? our panel tonight, i've scott scott jennings, abbey, and david swirlic. glad to see you all here. it might surprise you what i'm getting ready to tell you. there is a moment, apparently, where alex jones has responded and called this a win for truth. i'm going to play it for you in a little bit. but this is where the spin actually is. so, misinformation still abounds. what's

. >> reporter: emotional testimony from neil heslan, the father of six-year-old jessie lewis, killed entary in 2012. >> when you lose a child, you're losing part of yourself. and those feelings don't go away. >> reporter: heslan, and jessie's mom, scarlett lewis, are suing conspiracy theorist alex jones. jones on his "infowars" program told his audience of millions the massacre was a hoax calling the victims and their families crisis actors. >> they staged sandy hook. the evidence is overwhelming. >> reporter: the parents are asking for $150 million, saying they've endured years of harassment and threats by jones' followers. >> alex started this fight, and i'll finish this fight. >> reporter: heslan called jones a cowered for not being jones a a coward for not being jones a coward for not being present for his testimony, but jones was in court this afternoon as scarlett lewis, the boy's mother, took the stand and addressed him directly. >> my son existed. you're still on your show today trying to say that i'm-- implying, that i'm an actress. >> reporter: late today, jones took the sta

to the parents of jessie lewis who died in the sandy hook school massacre on top of yesterday's decision, which means jones and his company must pay jessie's parents a total of $49.3 million. that's a lot of money but a fraction of the 135 to $270 million a forensic economist says jones and his business are worth jones faces two similar lawsuits from other victims' families he did not show up in court for today's verdict. lester >> anne thompson thanks >>> tonight some of the busiest airports in the country from d.c. to new york are on ground delays as severe storms move in. thousands of flights delayed or canceled nationwide meanwhile tens of millions of americans are under heat alerts in the northeast and the plains temperatures surging today into the 90s and triple digits. increasingly, severe weather is being tied to climate change. here's sam brock >> reporter: the grueling heat that's gripped the country is showing little sign of letting up >> central air is key. >> reporter: more than 60 million people tonight again sweltering under heat alerts with cities in the northeast seeing

testifying in texas today the participants of 6-year-old jessie lewis. admonished by the judge. he'll continue tomorrow. first the parent's message from the court from cnn's miguel marquez. >> my son existed. >> reporter: my son existed, says scarlett lewis, the mother of 6-year-old jessie lewis, speaking directly to conspiracy theorist alex jones in an austin, texas, courtroom. >> jessie was real. i am a real mom. >> reporter: in an utterly unthinkable sign of our times scarlett lewis makes the case that she and her dead child are real. directly to jones. >> it doesn't exist that i'm deep state. it's just not true. i know you know that. that's the problem. i know you know that. and you keep saying it. you keep saying it. why? why? for money? because you made a lot of money while you've said it. i know -- i mean, i know you believe me. and yet you're going to get -- you're going to leave this courthouse and you're going to say it again on your show. you're saying no. you just did it. >> reporter: on his show today, today, he raised questions about both s

. >> i have gone from crying to rage that you can see evoked from the family members of jessie lewis,he stage, because the parents are asking for $150 million for the parents of alex jones when the mom of alex jones, scarlet lewis when she is talking to him, alex jones about the pain that she has caused her over the last decade. >> there is records of jesse's birth, of me, and i mean, i have a history and there is nothing that you could have found, because it does not exist that i am deep state. i mean, it is just not true. i know that you know that, and that is the problem, and i know that you know that, and you keep saying it. you keep saying it. why? why? for money? >> and you can see that he is still shaking his head as she is addressing him, and she has been constantly addressing him throughout the testimony of the emotions that it has caused them of not only losing her son, and the wounds that are reopened because of the lies that are continually spread and this is a back and forth of emotions between the two parent, and we have not heard of alex jones and he is the only one who

children and six adults actually happened and a huge bombshell, the lawyers for the family of jessie lewis children murdered in the shooting obtaining years of jones' phone records and sharing them in court. watch how it unfolded. >> mr. jones, did you know that 12 days ago, 12 days ago, your attorneys messed up and sent me an entire digital copy of your entire cell phone with every text message you've sent for the past two years and when informed did not take any steps to identify it as privileged or protect it in any way and as of two days ago, it fell free and clear into my possession and that's how i know you lied to me you didn't have texts of sanity hook. >> i told you the truth. this is your perry mason moment. i gave them my phone judge judge mr. jones, you need to answer the question. >> did you know this happened. >> i didn't know this happened. i told you i gave them the phone. >> wow. this trial is the first of three that will determine how much jones will have to pay multiple sandy hook families who sueded him and won over his lies. joining me now cnn senior investigator corre

he never had any text messages related to sandy hook, which set up the moment for the father of jessie lewisbshell on the court. >> this attorney messed up and sent an entire digital copy of your entire cell phone with every text message you've sent for the past two years and when informed did not take any steps to identify it as privileged or protected in any way. and as of two days ago, it fell free and clear into my possession. and that is how i know you lied to me when you said you did not have text messages about sandy hook. >> this is your perry mason moment. >> he was caught in yet another lie. there was no explanation for that. it was mind blowing. we don't know what the texts are yet, anderson, but it was an eye open. >> i was bring in elizabeth williamson, author of "sandy hook and the american tragedy and the battle for truth." elizabeth, can you describe what it was like in the courtroom today? >> i think probably the most notable thing -- and this has been true since the beginning of the trial, which has been going on for nearly two weeks -- is how uncomfortable jones was. as th

a jury awarding that sum to the parents of 6-year-old jessie lewis who was killed at sandy hook elementaryn years ago. following the judgment jones took to the airwaves and said this -- >> i admit that i made a mistake. i admitted that i followed disinformation, but not on purpose. i apologized to the families and the jury understood that. what i did to those families was wrong but i didn't do it on purpose. >> yeah. >> i'm not sure if you can say he didn't do it on purpose, but this may be just the start of jones' legal trouble because the plaintiffs' lawyer is saying that the january 6th committee has asked for jones' phone records which includes text messages revealed during this trial. joining us now is erica hill and cnn senior media reporter oliver darcy. let's start first, erica, with this trial. $4.1 million, it asked for $150 million but this is just one family and this may not be the end of it because there may be other damages awarded. >> these were the compensatory damages that were awarded yesterday. the attorney for the plaintiffs actually telling oliver that he was thrilled

just one second but your point to what these trials are about as we heard from scarlett lewis, jessie lewisay and spoke directly to alex jones, she said she wanted to speak directly to him. she said we've asked you to stop lying. we've asked you, implored you, and you haven't and you continue to repeat -- obviously i'm paraphrasing here, but you continue to repeat these lies. we're hoping that maybe, maybe by having a large financial judgment maybe that will finally compel you to stop telling these lies. that's how we got to this point, right, where we're hearing this testimony. but you're right, it wasn't just scarlett lewis who was calling out alex jones, it was the judge as well and i think we have that sound. >> it seems absurd to instruct you again that you must tell the truth while you testify, yet here i am. you must tell the truth while you testify. this is not your show. >> and an interesting note there on her saying this is not your show. you testimony we heard yesterday was from jessie louis' parents, they both testified but separately. in the morning his father neil heslin was s

the mind numbing absurdity, there were some incredibly powerful moments like when scarlett lewis, whose son jessieook, finally got a chance to confront jones. >> there is records of jesse's, i mean, me. i have a history, and there's nothing that you could have found, because it doesn't exist, that i am deep state. it's just not true. i know you know that. that's the problem. i know you know that. you keep saying it. you keep saying it. why? why? for money? this isn't staged. like, one of your people said. this is a real event. it seems so incredible to me that we have to do this. >> incredible, indeed. with a character as colorful as bombastic as yosemite alex jones it can be easy to forget that is incoherent bile has hurt and destroyed real people. his ratings are untethered from reality, yes, but with each viral broadcast, in fact more americans with his hate and his paranoia. >> so, i never expected trump charging into a goblins nest, to not get some goblin vomit and some blood on it i just want to catch him -- >> i declare, in 2022, there will be a declaration of independence against the alien

everybody wants to make it about him and money and politics and what it's about is scarlet lewis and neil and jessiety funny how much unnecessary security he had, though. >> there was an oceans 11 size of security detail around him, yes. >> interesting. i didn't see that. i didn't know that. you all have been doing this for five years. i bet it's changed a lot for you, having to think about alex jones, how has it changed as these legal cases have mounted and it's come home to roost for him? >> how has it changed looking at him? >> yeah. i mean, you're studying a person who seemed untouchable for a long time, but now is in serious legal jeopardy and financial jeopardy. >> yeah. i mean, i think that it's definitely an interesting experience, because you have a bit more attention being put on this subject that otherwise, you know, tends to just end up trending on twitter every now and again. not a ton of, like directed attention at him, whereas with this trial a lot has come on it. personally, i enjoy something a little more substantial and during this whole stretch of time, his content itself has been

million dollars in damages to parents of six-year-old jesse lewis, one of the 20 young children and six teachers murdered in that shooting. jessie's parents wanted at least 150 million for defamation. this afternoon their lawyer said the next step in this case is the real name of the game. >> the jury just returned a verdict for damages exceeding $4 million. that's a darn good start. we now have the punishment phase. it's perfectly expectable that we are going to see an over nine figure judgment against mr. jones. >> that punishment phase of the trial begins tomorrow. jurors have already heard about the damage done by alex jones's lies. >> i can't even describe the nightmare or the living hell that i and others have had to endure because of the negligence and the recklessness of alex jones. >> jones may soon face even more legal jeopardy. yesterday the lawyer for the sandy hook parents revealed the defense attorney had accidentally turned over two years worth of text messages from alex jones's phone. this morning the lawyer suggested those texts include messages from trump ally, roger stone. >> i have been asked by the january six