Infowars founder Alex Jones speaks to the media outside Waterbury Superior Court during his trial in Waterbury, Connecticut, in September 2022.
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Alex Jones, who spread lies about the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary shooting that killed 26 first-graders and staff, has given up on efforts to declare bankruptcy and agrees to liquidation own assets in order to eventually begin paying the nearly $1.5 billion in damages he owes the school.
Relatives of Sandy Hook victims won a defamation lawsuit against Jones in 2021.
Chris Mattei, an attorney representing some of the Sandy Hook families, said Jones was on the “edge of justice” and that relatives of the victims were determined to hold him accountable.
“For years, Connecticut’s family has fought to hold him accountable, at all costs and great personal risk. Their unwavering focus on meaningful responsibility, not just money, is what will now The big reason he brought to the edge of justice.
Now that Jones is petitioning to convert bankruptcy into liquidation, that may change. The request comes after victims’ families asked a Texas bankruptcy judge to liquidate Jones’ media empire and Infowars parent company Free Speech Systems.
The liquidation would not be enough to cover the amount owed to his family, but would likely force Jones to give up ownership of his alt-right outlet Infowars, where he has spread false conspiracy theories for 25 years.
Jones lied on Infowars and claimed that the shooting in Newtown, Connecticut that killed 20 first graders (ages 6 and 7) and 6 teachers never happened. In the lawsuit filed against Jones, the victims’ families said they were harassed and tortured by Jones’ listeners because of Jones’ lies.
Jones has since testified in a Texas court that he now understands it is irresponsible to say the Sandy Hook massacre was a hoax and that he now believes it is “100 percent true.”
Following the defamation suit, both Jones and Free Speech Systems filed for bankruptcy. Jones said in his bankruptcy filing that he has assets of $1 million to $10 million and liabilities of $1 billion to $10 billion.
In 2023, Jones attempted to reach a settlement with the victims’ families that would have offered a minimum settlement of $5.5 million per year for 10 years, with more likely depending on Jones’ income. The families filed a counterproposal calling for the liquidation of nearly all of Jones’ assets, including those related to his media company Infowars. The two sides failed to reach an agreement.
On Sunday, the victims’ families filed an emergency motion in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston asking the court to liquidate the free speech system. The bankruptcy judge is scheduled to make a decision on June 14.
Over the weekend, during a taping of Infowars, Jones became emotional — alternately angry, sometimes desperate — while discussing the loss of his show and company.
“I don’t want to be dramatic here, but it’s an uphill battle,” he said.
NPR’s Tovia Smith reports.
