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A federal judge on Friday ordered the liquidation of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ personal assets and was still deciding his company’s separate bankruptcy case. The ruling could determine the future of his media platform Infowars, as Jones owes $US1.5 billion ($2.27 billion) for his false claims that the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was a hoax.
Judge Christopher Lopez approved the conversion of Jones’ proposed personal bankruptcy reorganization to liquidation. He still had to decide whether Jones’ company, Austin, Texas-based Free Speech Systems, should also be liquidated.
It was not immediately clear what would happen to Free Speech Systems, which is Infowars’ parent company.
Many of Jones’ personal assets will be sold off, but he is expected to keep his primary Austin-area home and some other items that are exempt from bankruptcy liquidation. He has already moved to sell his $2.8 million ($4.23 million) Texas ranch, gun collection and other assets to help pay off debts.
Jones had no real reaction after the judge issued the warrant for his personal assets.
He has been telling his web viewers and radio listeners that Infowars’ parent company, Free Speech Systems, is on the verge of bankruptcy. A headline on Friday’s Infowars website read: “Watch Live! Will this be the last day of Infowars broadcasts?”
“This is probably the end of Infowars here very, very soon. If not today, in the next few weeks or months,” Jones told reporters before the hearing began. “But this is only the beginning of my fight against tyranny.”
Jones urges his followers to download videos from his online archive for safekeeping and directs them to a new website for his father’s company if they want to continue buying the nutritional supplements he sells on his show.
Jones has about US$9 million (S$13.6 million) in personal assets, while his company has about US$4 million (S$6.04 million) in cash, according to the latest financial court filings.
Jones and Austin, Texas-based Free Speech Systems filed for bankruptcy protection in 2022 as relatives of many victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting that killed 20 first-graders and six teachers in Newtown, Conn. , won lawsuits for more than $1.4 billion ($2.12 billion) in Connecticut and $49 million ($74.04 million) in Texas.
Attorneys for the Sandy Hook families are seeking liquidation.
“This will allow the Connecticut families to satisfy their $1.4 billion in judgments now and in the future, while denying Jones the ability to inflict mass damages as he has done for some 25 years,” Chris Mattei, attorney for the families in the Connecticut case, they said.
Relatives said they were traumatized by Jones’ comments and the actions of his followers. They testified that they were harassed and threatened by Jones’ followers, some of whom personally confronted the grieving families, saying the shooting never happened and their children never existed. One parent said someone threatened to dig up his dead son’s grave.
Jones and Free Speech Systems initially filed for bankruptcy reorganization, which would have allowed him to run Infowars while paying the families with the proceeds of his show. But the two sides couldn’t agree on a definitive plan, and Jones recently filed for permission to change his personal bankruptcy from reorganization to liquidation.
The families in the Connecticut case, including relatives of eight dead children and adults, have asked that Free Speech Systems’ separate bankruptcy case also be converted to liquidation. But the parents in the Texas suit — whose child, 6-year-old Jesse Lewis, died — want the company’s lawsuit dismissed.
Lawyers for the company filed documents showing it supports liquidation, but attorneys in Jones’ personal bankruptcy case filed a motion Wednesday saying he does not support that plan and asking a judge to dismiss the company’s case.
If Free Speech Systems’ lawsuit is dismissed, the company could be back in the same position it was in after the $1.5 billion lawsuit was awarded. Efforts to collect damages will return to state courts in Texas and Connecticut. This could give Infowars an extended lifeline as the collection effort played out.
Although he has since acknowledged that the Sandy Hook shooting happened, Jones has said on recent shows that Democrats and the “deep state” are conspiring to shut down his companies and take away his right to free speech because of his views. He also said the Sandy Hook families were being used as pawns in the plot. The families’ lawyers say that’s nonsense.
According to the most recent financial statements filed in bankruptcy court, Jones personally has about $US9 million (US$13.6 million) in assets, including his US$2.6 million (US$3.93 million) home ) in the Austin area and other real estate. He listed his living expenses at about $US69,000 ($104,000) for April alone, including about $US16,500 ($25,000) for home expenses.
Free Speech Systems, which employs 44 people, made nearly US$3.2 million ($4.83 million) in April, including from the sale of dietary supplements, clothing and other items Jones promotes on her show, while declared US$1.9 million (US$2.87 million) in expenses.
The families have a pending lawsuit in Texas accusing Jones of illegally diverting and concealing millions of dollars. Jones has denied the allegations.
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