Defamation is not protected under the first amendment. Jones might have had a credible defense against the allegations of defamation (I haven't bothered to rea

Defamation is not protected under the first amendment. Jones might have had a credible defense against the allegations of defamation (I haven't bothered to read the original complaint or any of the motions)--and defamation is notoriously hard for the plaintiffs to win in the US--but he was so uncooperative during discovery that he had a default judgement entered against him, meaning the only thing the jury had to decide was how much damages to award.