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The sit-down interview by Kelly, who lives in Rye, with the "InfoWars" host is set to air Sunday, June 18 on NBC. Jones has been very vocal in the past about his belief that the 2012 shooting, in which 20 children and six adults were killed, was a staged event. He has called it a "completely fake" and "manufactured" event that "clearly used actors."
Families of the victims killed in the December 2012 shooting have taken to social media to express their disappointment with NBC and Kelly's decision to air the interview with Jones, which they believe gives him a larger platform for his beliefs.
The Victoria Soto Memorial Fund, named for one of the teachers killed in the shooting, posted a letter to NBC and Kelly on its Facebook page.
"We would like it to be publicly known that we are greatly disappointed in your decision to give Alex Jones airtime. Alex and his followers have done nothing but make our lives a living hell for the last 4 1/2 years. Every family picture has been stolen, dissected, & analyzed with complete falsehoods."
In 2015 a follower of Jones, Matthew Mills showed up at a race held in Soto's memory and disrupted it, confronting family members and insisting that the shooting never happened. A Florida woman was sentenced last week for sending death threats to a Sandy Hook parent after becoming convinced that the shooting was a hoax.
"This incessant need for ratings at the cost of the emotional well-being of our family is disgusting and disappointing. You should be ashamed of yourselves for allowing this behavior. We hope you never are subjected to the kind of torture that Alex Jones and his followers inflict on us," the Soto family wrote.
Nelba Márquez-Greene, whose daughter Ana Grace Márquez-Greene was killed in the shooting, also criticized Kelly in a series of tweets posted on Sunday and Monday. She shared several tweets she has received from Sandy Hook truthers, demanding to see evidence that her daughter really was killed in the shooting, saying that she has received similar harassment every week for the past five years.
"Hey @megynkelly , let me know if you want to give his victims equal air time. Promoting this fool is bad news. Do not encourage his abuse," Márquez-Greene wrote.
She also took issue with a tweet by Kelly where the NBC host said it was her job to "shine a light."
"You do not "shine a light" on someone with such dangerous ideals and ideas. Shine a light on the parents, siblings and their journeys," Márquez-Greene said. "You have the choice to do the right thing. Shine light on truth, love and hope. Hate and evil doesn't need another platform."
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