WASHINGTON — A lawyer from InfoWars Founder and Host Alex Jones has been suspended from practicing law in Connecticut for six months after he allegedly disclosed confidential records related to the Sandy Hook defamation case.
The attorney, Norman Pattis, is also part of the legal team for Joseph Biggs, a Proud Boy member accused of seditious conspiracy and other crimes related to the January 6, 2021 Attack on the Capitol.
“We cannot expect our justice system or our lawyers to be perfect, but we can expect fundamental fairness and decency,” Judge Barbara Bellis wrote in a court order suspend Pattis’s attorney’s license. “There was no fairness or decency in the treatment of the plaintiffs’ most sensitive and personal information, and there was no excuse for (Pattis’) misconduct.”
Among the documents released were medical records of relatives of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, two years of text messages from Jones and other confidential files.
Jones received the order in October pay nearly a billion dollars to the families of those killed in the 2012 school shooting and to an FBI agent, for falsely claiming that the deadly attack never happened.
Alex Jones defamation trial:Connecticut jury orders Alex Jones to pay nearly $1 billion for Sandy Hook lies
in the federal district of dc court where jury selection for the Proud Boys trial was taking place, Pattis said Friday that he intends to file an appeal and will not present arguments while he determines how the Connecticut suspension affects his ability to practice law in tthe nation’s capital. He intends to remain on Biggs’ legal team, he said.
Four other leaders of the right-wing extremist group will stand trial alongside Biggs in one of the most high-profile cases on Jan. 6 thus far. Opening remarks are scheduled to begin next week.
Pattis did not respond to USA TODAY’s requests for comment, but wrote on Twitter that the news of his suspension is “true” and that he intends to “reserve comments for appeal.”