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Dad of Boy Killed in Sandy Hook Shooting Wins Defamation Suit Against Hoaxers

Dad of Boy Killed at Sandy Hook Wins Suit Against Hoaxers

On Monday, the father of a Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victim won a defamation lawsuit filed in Wisconsin against the two authors of a book advancing the false theory that the 2012 massacre never happened.

PEOPLE obtained a copy of the court’s summary judgment order, in which Dane County Circuit Judge Frank Remington ruled Leonard Pozner had been defamed by Jim Fetzer and Mike Palacek, who wrote the book Nobody Died at Sandy Hook.

In summation, the book falsely asserts the massacre was orchestrated by the government as a way to promote gun violence prevention measures.

Pozner’s son, Noah, was 6 when he was killed in the shooting. The book falsely asserts that Pozner is a “crisis actor” who fabricated Noah’s death certificate.

RELATED: Alex Jones Blames a ‘Form of Psychosis’ for Spreading Sandy Hook Conspiracy Theories

A trial to decide damages has been set for October.

By court order, any existing copies of the book must sold by its publisher, Moon Rock Books, by July 1. After that date, the book can not be sold or printed.

Noah was one of 20 children slaughtered in the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, on Dec. 14, 2012. Six adults also died in the shooting.

In the aftermath of the shooting, Pozner became a target himself.

RELATED: How a Victim’s Dad Was Inspired to Fight Back Against Sandy Hook Conspiracy Theories

Within days, and despite no evidence, conspiracy theories began to swirl about the attack — speculating that the shooting was a hoax.

Pozner’s lawyer, Jake Zimmerman, tells PEOPLE the decision “establishes as a matter of law that Noah Pozner died.”

• Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter.

The ruling essentially bars anyone from promoting the false notion no one died at Sandy Hook or that it was a staged event.

As part of the civil suit, Pozner provided a redacted copy of his son’s actual death certificate.

DNA samples were also taken from Pozner, and compared with those provided by the Connecticut medical examiner, proving that Noah was his son.

The civil suit seeks $1 million in damages.

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