Conspiracy theorists Alex Jones has asked a U.S. judge to convert its bankruptcy to Chapter 7 liquidation, a move that would kick off a sale of its assets, including its stake in Infowars parent company Free Speech Systems, to repay a settlement from the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre.
Jones will take Massive $1.5 billion legal settlement Jones owes money to Sandy Hook victims’ families after they sued him for defamation. Jones has claimed for years on his Infowars website that the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting, which killed 20 students and six faculty members, was staged by crisis actors to seize guns from Americans. Jones later admitted that the massacre was real.
Two years ago, courts in Texas and Connecticut found Jones liable for defamation and emotional distress, but the families of the Sandy Hook school shooting victims still have not received a penny of the compensation they deserve. Jones files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Soon after the settlement, he was able to retain control of his assets while he worked to restructure his debts.
Bankruptcy can be used to discharge debts and legal judgments, but the judge hearing Jones' case ruled in October that most defamation judgments cannot be legally dismissed because they were caused by “willful and malicious harm” inflicted by Jones.
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In a court filing late Thursday, Jones' attorneys wrote that “there is no reasonable prospect for a successful reorganization of Jones' debts.” As a result, they are seeking a Chapter 7 liquidation, which would liquidate Jones' assets in a less expensive and more streamlined court process, according to the filing.
Jones' attorneys wrote that a Chapter 11 bankruptcy would require more legal fees than a Chapter 7 liquidation, and those fees now provide “little to no benefit.”
The conversion to Chapter 7 liquidation means Jones' “ownership in the free speech system will be sold,” Avi Moshenberg, one of the attorneys representing the Sandy Hook families, said in a statement. Statement to CNN.
If the judge accepts the motion, a court-appointed trustee would liquidate Jones’ personal assets, including his stake in Free Speech Systems — but that wouldn’t necessarily mean the end of Infowars. The court-appointed trustee could potentially sell the business to a new owner.
Last weekend, Jones said in a tearful “emergency broadcast” that he expected the information war to Closed within the next month or soOn Tuesday, he said on his show that families of Sandy Hook victims were trying to silence him with “fictitious illegal court debts.”
In 2022, family members of Sandy Hook shooting victims testified in court that they had received death threats, abusive messages on social media, and in-person harassment from Jones' fans who believed the conspiracy theory that the 2012 school shooting was a hoax. Some were even forced to move to escape the abuse.
Meanwhile, they said, Jones profited from the lies as traffic and sales to his “InfoWars” website grew.
Jones had asked Sandy Hook families to vote for a bankruptcy settlement that would have paid them $55 million, but they unanimously rejected the deal.
Sandy Hook families have proposed liquidating Jones' assets, and U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez will consider approving the plan at a June 14 court hearing.
— Information from Reuters
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