Father of Sandy Hook victim wins defamation lawsuit against conspiracy book authors
Lenny Pozner, the father of a 6-year-old boy killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, has won a defamation lawsuit against the authors behind a book that falsely claimed the massacre did not occur.
A judge in Wisconsin on Monday issued a summary judgment against the authors of Nobody Died at Sandy Hook, which has now been pulled by its publisher, The Associated Press reports. The book reportedly claimed that Pozner's son's death certificate was fake.
The principal officer at Moon Rock Books, Dave Gahary, said per AP that "face-to-face interactions" with Pozner have convinced him that he "is telling the truth about the death of his son." Gahary also offered his "most heartfelt and sincere apology to the Pozner family.” Pozner said that although the book's author "has the right to be wrong," he "doesn't have the right to broadcast those beliefs if they defame me or harass me." Damages are to be decided at an October trial.
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This win comes amid an ongoing defamation lawsuit against conspiracy theorist Alex Jones brought by the families of Sandy Hook victims. Jones, who has been banned from Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, has described the shooting as a "giant hoax." He has since backed down from his claims and chalked up his past comments to having a "form of psychosis." Lawyers for the families on Monday alleged that Jones sent them files that contained child pornography, which Jones has blamed on a malware attack.
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Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
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