Overview

Leonard Pozner is the father of Noah Pozner; who was killed at age 6 in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown; Connecticut on December 14; 2012; in which 20 children and 6 staff members were murdered by a gunman. After the massacre; conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and his Infowars platform repeatedly claimed the shooting was a "false flag" hoax staged by "crisis actors" and that the parents were part of a government plot to eliminate the Second Amendment. As a result of these conspiracy theories; Pozner and other Sandy Hook parents received years of death threats; harassment; and stalking from conspiracy believers. Some parents were forced to move multiple times. Pozner's son's memorial was vandalized repeatedly. In response; Pozner founded the HONR Network; a nonprofit organization dedicated to combating online harassment and disinformation targeting victims of mass tragedies. He pursued legal action against conspiracy theorists; becoming one of several Sandy Hook parents who sued Alex Jones for defamation. In 2022; a Connecticut jury awarded the Sandy Hook families $965 million in damages from Jones; and a Texas jury had separately awarded $49.3 million (the combined total is often cited as approximately $1.5 billion). The verdicts were among the largest defamation judgments in American history and established that platforming disinformation about mass shooting victims carries real legal consequences. Jones declared bankruptcy; and courts have ruled that the defamation judgments cannot be discharged. Pozner's activism has been credited with helping establish legal accountability for conspiracy-driven harassment. He has spoken publicly about living under constant threat and the emotional toll of watching his murdered child's existence be denied by millions of people.

Key Affiliations

Controversies & Concerns

Related Investigations (1)

Known Associates & Connections

Sources & Documentation

2 documented sources from official records, investigations, and reports