Judge considers case against conspiracy theorist Alex Jones

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FILE - In this Monday, April 17, 2017 photo, "Infowars" host Alex Jones arrives at the Travis County Courthouse in Austin, Texas. Nelba Marquez-Greene, whose 6-year-old daughter, Ana Grace, was among the 26 people killed in the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., said Monday, June 12, 2017, that she fears a planned NBC television interview by Megyn Kelly with Jones on Father's Day will encourage other conspiracy theorists who have harassed her and accused her of being part of a hoax. (Tamir Kalifa/Austin American-Statesman via AP, File)

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AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones wants a Texas judge to dismiss a defamation lawsuit filed against him by families of some of the children killed in the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

A hearing Wednesday in Austin is the first of two this week involving the “Infowars” host. He was sued after repeatedly claiming on his Austin-based show that the Connecticut shooting was a hoax. The shooting killed 20 children and six adults.

Jones now admits the shooting occurred but says his claims were free speech.

similar lawsuit was filed in Connecticut. He’s also being sued by a man falsely identified on the Infowars website as the gunman who killed 17 people at a Florida high school in February.

Jones’ profile has spread from the far-right fringe in recent years. While running for president in 2015, Donald Trump told Jones his reputation was “amazing.”