- Alex Jones conceded that the Sandy Hook shooting was "100% real" in court Wednesday.
- He added that he understood spreading false messaging about the massacre was "irresponsible."
- "[The media] won't let me take it back," Jones added.
Infowars founder and host Alex Jones said in court Wednesday that he believes the Sandy Hook mass shooting was real.
Jones, who for years told his audience that the Sandy Hook shooting was a "giant hoax" staged by the government with "crisis actors," made the comment after his lawyer asked him if he understood that it was "absolutely irresponsible" for him to push messaging that the massacre was fake.
"It was. Especially since I've met the parents. It's 100% real," Jones testified during his defamation damages trial in Texas in which he was sued by Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, the parents of Sandy Hook victim Jesse Lewis.
Jones continued: "The media still ran with lies that I was saying that it wasn't real on air yesterday. It's incredible. They won't let me take it back. They just want to keep me in the position of being the Sandy Hook man."
On Tuesday, Jones had insulted Heslin during an InfoWars broadcast that was later shown in court by Heslin's lawyer.
During the broadcast, Jones called Heslin "slow" and said he was being "manipulated by some very bad people."
Heslin and Lewis allege that they have experienced distress over Jones' claims that the Sandy Hook shooting was fake.
Jones has already been found liable for defamation by the Texas court and a court in Connecticut for his depiction of the rampage, in which a gunman killed 6 adults and 20 children.
The jury in the trial will determine how much money Jones must pay to Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, who seek $150 million in compensatory damages.
Jones said he acknowledges he "unintentionally took part in things that did hurt these people's feelings and I am sorry for that."
"I think Sandy Hook happened," Jones said. "I think it's a terrible event, and I think we need to protect our children from mentally ill psychopaths."
On Tuesday, both Heslin and Lewis testified that an apology for Jones would not be enough.
Heslin called Jones "cowardly" for not showing up to hear his testimony.
"I think it's disrespect," Heslin said on Tuesday. "I think it's a cowardly act of Alex Jones not facing me here in this courtroom."
Heslin said he has endured a "living hell" due to the "negligence and recklessness of Alex Jones and the propaganda that he peddled for his own profits and success."
A lawyer for Heslin and Lewis previously said that the parents faced harassment for years, thanks to Jones' decade-long "massive campaign of lies" about the shooting.