A Texas jury has ordered conspiracy theorist Alex Jones to pay $45.2 million for falsely claiming that the 2012 Sandy Hook school massacre was a hoax, AFP reported.

The verdict comes a day after a jury awarded a couple whose child died in Sandy Hook $4.1 million in damages for the emotional distress caused by Jones, who spent years broadcasting lies on his online and radio talk shows. infowars show.

The total judgment of $49.3 million was far less than the $150 million sought by plaintiffs Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, whose six-year-old son Jesse was killed.

Jones, a vocal supporter of former President Donald Trump, has claimed on InfoWars for years that the Newtown, Connecticut shooting was "staged" by gun control activists.

Sandy Hook's families claimed that his denial, combined with his ability to influence the beliefs of thousands of followers, caused real emotional trauma. He has also been accused of making huge profits from malicious lies and misinformation.

The ruling is unlikely to end the legal problems of Jones, 48, who is also facing another defamation lawsuit in Connecticut.

He was found guilty in several defamation cases brought by the parents of Sandy Hook's victims, and the Texas case was the first to reach the stage of restitution.

He is also under scrutiny for his part in the attack on the US Capitol by Trump supporters on January 6, 2021.

InfoWars filed for bankruptcy in April, and another Jones-owned company, Free Speech Systems, filed for bankruptcy last week.