Alex Jones’ Infowars auction sale to The Onion, a satirical news site, was denied by a federal judge in Texas. The judge criticized the conspiracy theory platform’s bidding process as being defective and the amount of money that the families of the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting in 2012 stood to earn.
Jones, whose Infowars website was placed up for sale as part of his bankruptcy case following the roughly $1.5 billion that courts ordered him to pay for erroneously calling one of the bloodiest school shootings in American history a hoax, won the decision late Tuesday night. The Onion’s bid was supported by the families of the Sandy Hook victims.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez declared he would not authorize the sale after a two-day hearing in Houston, citing issues with auction transparency. This makes it possible for Jones to retain Infowars, which has its headquarters in Austin, Texas, at least for the time being. As a satire, The Onion had intended to fire Jones and relaunch Infowars in January.
The Onion will keep looking for a solution that gives the Sandy Hook families a positive conclusion for the atrocity they experienced, even if we are extremely saddened with today’s decision. Late on Tuesday, Ben Collins, the CEO of Global Tetrahedron, the parent company of The Onion, shared a message on social media.
Lopez pointed to issues with the bidding process but denied any misconduct. He claimed that everyone gave it their all and made an effort to follow the regulations, and that he did not believe anyone involved in the auction had acted dishonestly.
However, Lopez stated that he did not want another auction and that the trustee in charge of the auction was to decide what to do next.
In exchange for Infowars assets in the auction, The Onion offered $1.75 million in cash and other incentives. First United American Companies, which distributes nutritional products on a website under Jones’ name, placed a $3.5 million bid.
The bids were a small portion of the sums that Jones has been compelled to pay in defamation cases brought by Sandy Hook massacre victims’ families in Texas and Connecticut. According to Lopez, families were left with a significant amount of money after the auction.
According to Lopez, you must do everything in your power to help them.
Attorney Christopher Mattei, who represented the Sandy Hook families in their Connecticut lawsuit against Jones, expressed disappointment with the judge’s decision.
According to a statement from Mattei, these families, who have already endured innumerable setbacks and obstacles, are strong and resolved to hold Alex Jones and his dishonest companies responsible for the damage he has inflicted. The fact that Alex Jones will shortly start making payments on his debt to these families and will keep doing so for however long it takes is unaffected by this ruling.
Jones, who was not present at the hearings, returned to his show late Tuesday to applaud the judge’s decision and denounced the sale as false and absurd.
Many of the Sandy Hook families pledged to forego $750,000 of the auction proceeds owed to them and instead give them to other creditors, so even though The Onion’s cash offer was less than First United American’s, it still gave the other creditors more money than First United American’s bid would have.
Alex Jones’ bankruptcy case
Jones’ personal bankruptcy case, which he filed in late 2022 after being sentenced to pay roughly $1.5 billion in defamation claims in Connecticut and Texas brought by family of Sandy Hook shooting victims, included the sale of Infowars.
Jones repeatedly referred to the shooting, which claimed the lives of 20 children and six teachers, as an actor-staged fake intended to increase gun regulation. Numerous victims’ parents and kids testified in court that Jones’ plots and threats from his supporters had scarred them.
Since then, Jones has admitted that the school shooting in Connecticut occurred.
The Sandy Hook family will receive the majority of the money raised from the sale of Infowars and many of Jones’ personal belongings. Jones’ other creditors will receive a portion of the money.
Auction overseer defends his decision
In court this week, trustee Christopher Murray defended The Onion’s proposal, stating that he was impartial and did not prefer one bidder over the other.
In addition, he disclosed that First United American had recently presented an updated bid, which he claimed he was unable to accept due to objections from the Sandy Hook families in the Connecticut litigation.
The Onion evaluated its bid, which was in line with the Sandy Hook families’ offer, at $7 million as that sum was equivalent to a purchase price that would give the other creditors the same sum of money.
Murray’s attorneys described First United American’s request to invalidate The Onion’s offer as an unsuccessful bidder’s unethical attempt to sway an otherwise open and fair election process in a court filing last month.
Ben Broocks, Jones’ lawyer, pointed out that the Sandy Hook litigation rulings might be reversed in upcoming appeals and persuaded Murray to admit that the Sandy Hook families’ bid for The Onion might collapse if that were to occur. This is because they might not receive the $750,000 from the sale to distribute to other creditors, and their share of the auction earnings could drastically decline.
Putting Infowars up for auction
All of the equipment and other assets in the Austin-based Infowars studio were up for sale, along with the rights to the company’s websites, social media accounts, video library, and product trademarks. Jones utilizes the studio to broadcast his conspiracy-theory-heavy, far-right broadcasts on radio stations, the Infowars website, and his social media account on X. Jones’ personal belongings are also being sold in large quantities.
In the event that The Onion is approved to purchase Infowars and dismiss Jones, he has established a second studio, websites, and social media profiles. Jones has stated that if the auction winner is cordial with him, he may keep using the Infowars platforms.
Citing his right to free expression, Jones is contesting the money he was forced to pay in court.
Note: Every piece of content is rigorously reviewed by our team of experienced writers and editors to ensure its accuracy. Our writers use credible sources and adhere to strict fact-checking protocols to verify all claims and data before publication. If an error is identified, we promptly correct it and strive for transparency in all updates, feel free to reach out to us via email. We appreciate your trust and support!