According to an order expected to be authorised by a federal judge, conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ Infowars media empire and its assets will be auctioned off piece by piece this fall to help pay the more than $1 billion he owes family of Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre victims.
During a court hearing in Houston on Tuesday, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez said he would sanction the auctions, which will begin in November. However, he stated that he must first amend a previous order to clarify that the trustee supervising Jones’ personal bankruptcy case controls all of the assets of Infowars parent firm Free Speech Systems, which Jones owns entirely.
Judge To Approve Auctions Liquidating Alex Jones’ Infowars To Help Pay Sandy Hook Families
Despite the impending closure of his company, Jones intends to continue his talk shows through other means, including a new website and personal social media profiles. He has also recommended that his fans buy Infowars’ assets, allowing him to continue hosting his show as an employee under the Infowars name in his hometown of Austin, Texas.
“It’s very cut and dry that the assets of Free Speech Systems, the website, the equipment, the shopping cart, all that, can be sold,” Jones stated on a recent broadcast. “And they know full well that there are a bunch of patriot buyers, and then the operation can ease on.”
Jones and his company both declared bankruptcy in 2022, the same year Sandy Hook families won nearly $1.5 billion in defamation and emotional distress lawsuits against Jones for repeatedly claiming the 2012 school shooting was a hoax staged by “crisis actors” in order to pass more gun control legislation. The Newtown, Connecticut, shooting murdered twenty first-graders and six educators.
During two civil cases in Texas and Connecticut, parents and children of many of the victims testified that Jones’ bogus conspiracies and the actions of his followers had traumatised them. They claimed they were hounded and threatened by Jones’ supporters, some of whom visited the mourning families in person, claiming the shooting never occurred and their children did not exist. One parent stated that someone threatened to dig up his deceased son’s grave.
Jones is appealing the civil jury findings, citing free speech rights and challenging whether the families established a link between his views and the individuals who harassed and intimidated the relatives. He has since acknowledged that the incident took place.
Lopez changed Jones’ personal bankruptcy reorganisation case into a liquidation in June, which means that most of his assets would be sold to pay creditors, with the exception of his main residence and other exempt items. The same day, Lopez dismissed Free Speech Systems’ bankruptcy case after Jones and the families were unable to reach an agreement on a final plan.
Lopez hopes to authorise a sell-off order that will auction Infowars’ intellectual property on November 13, including trademarks, copyrighted content, social media accounts, and websites. Jones’ own social media sites, including his 2.8 million-follower account on social network X, would be excluded.
However, Christopher Murray, the trustee supervising Jones’ bankruptcy case, announced on Tuesday that he may soon seek court authorization to liquidate Jones’ personal social media accounts and other intellectual property, which Jones’ attorneys have rejected. That issue could lead to another court battle in the bankruptcy case. Murray is also expected to sell a significant portion of Jones’ holdings.
The Sandy Hook relatives, who won the Connecticut lawsuit, want Jones to delete his personal social media accounts. Their lawyers also argue that the families should receive a portion of Jones’ future earnings to help repay his more than $1 billion debt.
Christopher Mattei, a lawyer representing the Sandy Hook families in the Connecticut complaint, stated that the auction order’s signature by the judge would be “a significant step forward” in the family’s quest to hold Jones accountable for his hoaxes.
“Alex Jones will no longer own or control the company he built,” Mattei stated on Tuesday. “This brings the families closer to their goal of holding him accountable for the harm he has caused.”
The remainder of Infowars’ assets, including laptops, video cameras, and other studio equipment, will be sold at a separate auction on December 10.
Judge To Approve Auctions Liquidating Alex Jones’ Infowars To Help Pay Sandy Hook Families
Jones has generated millions of dollars over the years by promoting dietary supplements, clothes, survival gear, books, and other products on his internet and radio shows. It is unclear how much money would be produced by selling Infowars and Jones’ assets, as well as how much money would go to the Sandy Hook families.
Jones has approximately $9 million in personal assets, according to court papers. According to earlier court testimony, Free Speech Systems has approximately $6 million in cash on hand and $1.2 million in inventory.
Lawyers, financial experts, and others who worked on Jones’ bankruptcy filings and incurred millions in fees and expenditures are expected to be reimbursed first.
One outstanding legal issue in the bankruptcy case is whether Free Speech Systems owes more than $50 million to another Jones-owned company, PQPR Holdings Limited. Free Speech Systems purchases dietary supplements from PQPR to sell on the Infowars website. PQPR claimed it was not paid for several of the supplements and filed liens. Sandy Hook lawyers claim the debt is fictitious.
If the debt is deemed to be real, it may lower the amount that the Sandy Hook family finally receives from the liquidations.
SOURCE | AP
