Houston: A bankruptcy ruling by a Texas judge prohibits Infowars host Alex Jones from utilizing that protection to evade paying over $1.1 billion to families who filed lawsuits against him because his conspiracy theories regarding the Sandy Hook school massacre were false.
The verdict represents an additional substantial setback for Jones, following his acquittal by juries in Texas and Connecticut for disseminating false information regarding the deadliest school massacre in U.S. history. U.S. District Judge Christopher Lopez of Houston issued the decision on Thursday.
Alex initiated the Chapter 11 bankruptcy process a year ago, and his attorneys have recently submitted financial documents that approximate his net worth of $14 million. Lopez determined these safeguards do not apply to investigations into “willful and malicious” conduct.
“The families are relieved that the bankruptcy court has ruled that Jones’s malicious conduct will not be protected,” said Christopher Mattei, an attorney for the families based in Connecticut. “Consequently, Jones will remain liable for his future actions, notwithstanding his purported bankruptcy status.”
On Friday, an attorney representing Jones should have responded to a message requesting comment.
In 2012, following the tragic shooting incident at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, which claimed the lives of 26 individuals, Jones centered his programming on his premier Infowars show around a fabricated conspiracy theory. Last year, he informed his audience that he was “officially out of money” and requested they make purchases on his Infowars website to preserve his airtime.
Judge Rules Alex Jones Can’t Use Bankruptcy Protection To Avoid Paying Sandy Hook Families.
Alex’s expenditures, however, exceeded $93,000 in July alone, according to his monthly financial disclosures in the bankruptcy case. This included thousands of dollars spent on meals and entertainment. Given that they have not yet received the compensation that the juries awarded them, the Sandy Hook families found the expenditures offensive.
Sandy Hook families prevailed in lawsuits against Jones last year, collecting nearly $1.5 billion in judgments due to Jones’s repeated promotion of a false theory regarding the school massacre.
Alex may owe Sandy Hook families an even greater sum of money. The parents of one of the children killed in the incident, 6-year-old Noah Pozner, have filed an additional lawsuit in Texas. The date of the trial has not been determined as of yet.
At the trials, relatives of the victims provided testimony regarding their ordeals with harassment and threats at the hands of Jones’ adherents. These individuals not only sent threats but also physically accosted the bereaved families, where they leveled accusations against them, claiming they were “crisis actors” whose children never materialized.
SOURCE – (AP)
