Here's why Sandy Hook families rejected Alex Jones' settlement offer

The families of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting don't want to let conspiracy theorist Alex Jones avoid a court reckoning. Last week Jones, who falsely claimed that the massacre of 26 people at the Connecticut school never happened, failed to show up for a deposition in a case brought by the families.

Newsweek is reporting that the families have rejected a settlement offer from Jones that would pay each of the 13 families $120,000. In turning down Jones' offer they characterized it as a "transparent and desperate" attempt by the conspiracy theorist to avoid public scrutiny for falsely claiming the massacre was a hoax.

According to court filings, the InfoWars host offered each of the 13 plaintiffs the six-figure settlement on Tuesday after a judge ruled in November that he must pay damages to the families of the murdered children for repeatedly spreading false claims about the 2012 mass shooting which left 26 people, including 20 children, dead.

"Mr. Jones extends his heartfelt apology for any distress his remarks caused," the filings submitted in Connecticut court state.

In separate filings, the families used nearly identical language in rejecting Jones' offer.

"The so-called offer is a transparent and desperate attempt by Alex Jones to escape a public reckoning under oath with his deceitful, profit-driven campaign against the plaintiffs and the memory of their loved ones lost at Sandy Hook," the families said.

The families have asked that Jones be held in contempt of court for not showing up for the deposition. Jones claimed that he has medical conditions that would have caused him "significant stress," although he did find a way to host his multi-hour podcast last week.