Yes, the First Amendment protects free speech.

But lies are still lies and lies have consequences whether you are free to spew them or not.

Alex Jones lied.

He lied about the horrific, senseless, heinous murders at Sandy Hook.

Jones has been ordered to pay almost $1 billion because of his Infowars lies denying the mass shooting and massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012 that killed 20 students and six teachers.

So, the government did not, and could not, prevent Jones from lying about Sandy Hook. He has free speech rights to say whatever he wanted to say, and now, he will have to pay the price for those lies.

This one court case is not the end of Jones’ legal woes, and it remains to be seen how much money he will ever cough up, but his lies have consequences.

Jones personifies what it means to be a conspiracy theorist. It seems he never met a lie he didn’t like. Lies, including the Big Lie, denying the results of the presidential election, may be repeated over and over again but no matter how often repeated, a lie is still a lie and eventually will have consequences.

Jones falsely claimed the shooting at Sandy Hook was a hoax staged by gun control advocates.

Families of the victims say they have been harmed emotionally, harassed and continue to suffer because of his baseless lies.

Jones can continue to spew his venom.

He can continue to tell tells.

In fact, even as the judgment against him was handed down, he mocked the trial, mocked his accusers and mocked the verdict.

It is disingenuous for Jones to say his rights to free speech have been abridged, when he continues to spout off at the mouth and say whatever mindless thing he wants to say.

He is obviously free to be stupid.

He is obviously free to lie.

That does not mean, however, that he can do it with complete impunity.

He hurt people.

His words did real, tangible, actual damage.

He said the lying, hurtful things he said with malicious intent.

Unfortunately, Alex Jones is not an anomaly. He just happens to have a platform. The only thing that seems more unbelievable than the things that come out of Alex Jones’ mouth is the fact there are people, millions of people, who actually believe him.

People like Jones may have the freedom, the right, to say hurtful, untrue and stupid things. Others have the right to believe them. That does not mean, however, that there will not be consequences.

Jones is now facing almost a billion of those consequences.

Jim Zachary is the editor of The Valdosta Daily Times, CNHI’s director of newsroom training and development and president emeritus of the Georgia First Amendment Foundation.