When Robbie Parker decided to join a lawsuit suing infamous right wing conspiracy theorist and radio host Alex Jones, he says it was for a multitude of reasons. Yes, he says it was for other parents of school shooting victims who, like himself, were accused of being crisis actors. Yes, it was to protect the legacy of his daughter, Emilie, who he says was already deeply kind and empathetic at just six years old. He’s quick to admit, and emphasize, though, that the fight was also for himself.
On Dec. 14, 2012, Parker’s daughter was killed during a mass shooting at Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Conn., by a semiautomatic rifle—a shooting that left 26 people dead.
For Parker, though, the trauma did not end there. The media onslaught and subsequent conspiracy theories and online vitriol bolstered by Jones through Infowars ripped through Parker and his family’s life, preventing the healing he knew was possible for them.
In 2022, Jones was found liable for defaming victims of the Sandy Hook shooting, and was ordered to pay nearly $1.5 billion in damages to the victims’ families. Now, Parker has written and published a book, A Father’s Fight, about his experiences grieving for his daughter, and fighting for her legacy in the lawsuit against Jones.
It was easy in some ways to relate to Parker, who names the shooting at my school, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., as the turning point in his choice to enter the lawsuit against Jones. Though neither of us experienced gun violence or online lies about that violence in the same way, we were both forever touched by it.
TIME sat down with Parker to discuss his book, the pressure of the media spotlight after tragedy, the healing process of writing, and suing Jones.
TIME: I wanted to start by offering a space to talk about that day—the day of the shooting when you found out about your daughter, Emilie’s, death. I get asked about that day all the…
