Alex Jones’ Lawyers Say Conspiracy Views Common, Not ‘Malicious’

Lawyers for right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones argued he should be allowed to discharge roughly $1.4 billion in defamation judgments stemming from his statements about the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

Jones’ attorneys made their case to a judge Tuesday in their bid to shut down efforts by the shooting victims’ families to collect on the jury awards. The families seek a ruling that Jones can’t use bankruptcy to toss the judgments because individual debtors are generally not allowed to discharge liabilities stemming from “willful and malicious injury.”

Since Jones believed the shooting was a hoax, his actions don’t rise ...