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Alex Jones’ far-right platform Infowars can be sold once again to help pay the more than $1 billion he owes the families of Sandy Hook shooting victims, a Texas district court judge has ordered.
Judge Maya Guerra Gamble said in a Wednesday hearing that Infowars’ parent company, Free Speech Systems, will be turned over to a court-appointed receiver, who will be responsible for selling the assets and using the proceeds to pay Jones’ debts to the Sandy Hook families.
The order paves the way for The Onion to revive its bid for the conspiracy-driven outlet and its assets.
Last year, the satirical news outlet had initially won a court-mandated auction for Infowars’ parent company, backed by the Sandy Hook families. However, in December, a federal bankruptcy judge halted the sale, citing concerns with the auction process and disputes over the bids. The judge later said the families should pursue what they’re owed in state court rather than at the federal level.
Jones was found guilty in 2022 for defamation after repeatedly claiming on-air that the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre, in which six adults and 20 children were killed, was a “hoax.” He has yet to pay a single cent of the more than $1 billion in damages he owes the families.
On his show Wednesday, Jones railed against the families and said he was “pissed off” over the ruling — although he acknowledged being “resigned” to the fact that Infowars will likely have to shut down. Jones is free to keep broadcasting his show, and he has said he will do so under a different brand.
Attorneys for the victims’ families, meanwhile, celebrated Wednesday’s ruling. “Today’s order brings us a critically important step closer to achieving the goal that the Connecticut families have spent years fighting for: holding Alex Jones accountable for years of harm,” said Chris Mattei, an attorney for the Connecticut-based families. “The receiver is now authorized to liquidate his business assets, and we look forward to the corrupt media empire that Jones built finally being dismantled.”
Mark Bankston, an attorney for the Texas-based families, added that they “pleased” with the ruling, “which will finally lead to accountability for Alex Jones’ monstrously cruel harassment.”
The Onion had planned to turn Infowars into a humorous send-up of the conspiracy-driven right-wing media ecosystem that allows figures like Jones to flourish. Their plans have also included an exclusive advertising agreement with Everytown for Gun Safety, a gun-control advocacy group.
The Onion did not comment on the latest developments, but the outlet has previously stated that it was open to “all options” and plans to keep pursuing the sale.
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