Wolfgang Halbig, a former police officer and school district risk manager accused of harassing and tormenting the families of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims, has been arrested in Florida.

Halbig, 73, of the Orlando suburb of Sorrento, was taken into police custody Monday for illegally obtaining the personal information of a father, Leonard Pozner, who lost his 6-year-old son, Noah Pozner, in the massacre.

Halbig faces a felony charge for unlawful possession of personal identification of another person. Leonard Pozner contacted police after discovering that Halbig had obtained his information, including his Social Security number and date of birth, and began emailing it to others in order to facilitate further harassment.

A former contributor to conspiracy theory outlet Infowars, Halbig had accused families of the Sandy Hook shooting’s victims of being “crisis actors.” Infowars, which is owned and operated by Alex Jones, has stated that the December 2012 shooting of 20 first-graders and six educators in Newtown, Connecticut, was a "giant hoax" intended to undermine laws allowing private gun ownership.

“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 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.”

According to court records, Halbig provided Jones with at least 4,000 emails about the Sandy Hook shooting. Halbig frequently traveled to Newtown for "research," while also traveling with an Infowars camera crew to gather interviews for evidence about whether the shooting happened.

“I can’t tell whether they died or they did not,” Halbig told the Orlando Sentinel in April 2019. “But for six years I have made public records requests to prove whether this happened or not. And they have refused to give me those documents….I wanted, for once and for all, to know whether Sandy Hook happened.”

Pozner contacted police about Halbig’s continued online harassment in October 2019.

“Defendant Halbig has contacted the victim's family members and has continued to harass them,” Halbig’s arrest affidavit reads. “Asking questions and alleging the children involved are crisis actors.”

The Sentinel reported in April that Halbig is married to a retired school teacher and has two adult sons. Halbig was released on a $5,000 bail on Monday. He is expected in court on Feb. 24.

Sandy hook families
A sign stands near the site of the December 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting on the day of the National School Walkout on March 14, 2018 in Sandy Hook Connecticut. John Moore/Getty Images
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