A man accused of tormenting family members of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting massacre was arrested Monday in Florida.
Wolfgang Halbig, 73, is accused of possessing the personal information of the father of a 6-year-old killed in the shooting, including his Social Security number. He was charged with felony unlawful possession of personal identification of another person, according to online jail records.
The Sandy Hook father, Leonard Pozner, contacted the Lake County Sheriff's Office in October and said that Halbig illegally obtained his personal information and emailed it to several people, the arrest affidavit says.
Halbig has repeatedly harassed Pozner, the father told authorities. He has also contacted several relatives of the victims "asking questions and alleging the children involved are crisis actors," according to the affidavit.
“After five years of being hunted, harassed, and abused by prolific hoaxer, Wolfgang Halbig, we are gratified to announce that he has finally been arrested," Pozner said Tuesday in a statement to NBC News. "He used my personal information to incentivize others to terrorize us and monetize his hate. The result has been an ongoing nightmare for myself and other families of Sandy Hook victims."
Halbig was released on a $5,000 bond, jail records show. He has an arraignment set for Feb. 24.
Twenty first-grade students and six adults were killed at the school in Newtown, Connecticut, when a gunman opened fire Dec. 14, 2012.
Halbig, a former police officer, has said that he believes the shooting happened, but that authorities have refused to clear up what he believes are discrepancies in the official story, The Associated Press reported.
Pozner filed a complaint in September 2015 alleging that Halbig posted his personal information — including his email address, phone number and address. Halbig allegedly shared the information after Pozner emailed Florida's state attorney general about a "fictitious corporation and website" that the suspect created to purportedly expose the truth behind the shooting.
Pozner, through his attorney, demanded the information be taken down, but Halbig did not remove it, the complaint says.
Halbig was a contributor to InfoWars, which was founded by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, the AP reported.
In 2018, Pozner and the parents of another slain student, Jesse Lewis, filed separate lawsuits in Texas against Jones for defamation. Halbig was also named a defendant in the case.
In December, a Texas judge ordered Jones to pay $100,000 for using his show to promote falsehoods that the massacre was a hoax.
Jones acknowledged allowing Halbig and others to question the shooting on his show, but said he has a constitutional right to do that.
Halbig could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday. It was not clear if he has an attorney.
