BRIDGEPORT — A Connecticut judge ruled this week that Alex Jones must submit to a sworn deposition in a defamation case brought against him by several family members of Sandy Hook victims.

Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis also ruled on February 13 that the families can depose several other defendants in the case, including those critical to the business operations of Infowars.

In reaction to Wednesday’s ruling, Mark Barden, whose son, Daniel, was one of 20 first grade students killed on 12/14, said it was time for Jones to be held accountable for his actions.

“For years, Alex Jones and his co-conspirators have turned the unthinkable loss of our sweet little Daniel and of so many others into advertising dollars and fundraising appeals,” Mr Barden said. “It is far beyond time that he be held accountable for the pain his false narratives have caused so many, and today’s ruling brings us one step closer to doing that.”

Josh Koskoff, one of the Koskoff Koskoff & Bieder attorneys representing the families, was not surprised that Jones had hoped to avoid this move.

”It is unsurprising that Alex Jones would do anything in his power to avoid testifying under oath and being forced to confront his outrageous conduct,” Mr Koskoff said. “From the beginning, we have said that Jones knowingly peddled false and malicious narratives in order to make money at the expense of the Sandy Hook families’ grief, safety, and security. Today’s ruling moves us one step closer to proving this.”

Earlier this month, Jones and his co-defendants were ordered to surrender internal financial, business, and marketing documents related to Infowars as part of the same case. This week, the Connecticut Supreme Court denied Jones’s appeal of that decision.

The case, Lafferty v. Jones et. al., alleges a years-long campaign of abusive and outrageous false statements in which Jones and the other defendants have developed, amplified, and perpetuated claims that the Sandy Hook massacre was staged and that the 26 families who lost loved ones that day are paid actors who faked their relatives’ deaths.

According to the complaint, Jones’s actions subjected the families and survivors of the Sandy Hook shooting to physical confrontations and harassment, death threats, and personal attacks on social media.

The plaintiffs are the parents of five children killed at Sandy Hook — Jacqueline and Mark Barden, parents of Daniel; Nicole and Ian Hockley, parents of Dylan; Francine and David Wheeler, parents of Ben; Jennifer Hensel and Jeremy Richman, parents of Avielle; and Robert Parker, father of Emilie — as well as Donna Soto, Carlee Soto-Parisi, Carlos M. Soto and Jillian Soto, the mother and three siblings (respectively) of first grade teacher Victoria Leigh Soto; Erica Lafferty-Garbatini, the daughter of Sandy Hook Elementary School Principal Dawn Hochsprung; and Bill Sherlach, the husband of Mary Sherlach.

William Aldenberg, an FBI agent and first responder to the scene, is also a plaintiff.

The families are represented by Josh Koskoff, Chris Mattei, Matt Blumenthal, and Alinor Sterling of Koskoff, Koskoff & Bieder.