A judge has denied Alex Jones’ sale of InfoWars to The Onion.
In short:
A US federal judge has blocked the sale of Alex Jones’s InfoWars to satirical news outlet The Onion.
At the end of a two-day hearing in Houston, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez rejected Jones’s allegations of collusion in the auction.
What’s next?
The judge directed the trustee to resolve some disputes among creditors before trying again to sell Infowars.
A federal judge has blocked the sale of conspiracy platform Infowars to satirical news organization The Onion after Alex Jones claimed the recent bankruptcy auction was rife with illegal collusion.
On November 14, The Onion won the bid, beating out a Jones-owned company.
The decision by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez means Jones can stay at Infowars in Austin, Texas.
The Onion originally planned to kick Jones off the show and relaunch InfoWars as a parody in January.
The Onion buys Infowars founded by Alex Jones
In the photo, Infowars founder Alex Jones is seen in profile, wearing a suit.
Jones is $1.5 billion in debt for defaming the families of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, claiming it was a hoax staged by crisis actors.
At the end of a lengthy two-day hearing in a Texas court, Judge Lopez criticized the auction process as flawed and said the results “have cost the families of the victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting a lot of money.
“You have to fight really hard to get them,” Judge Lopez said.
Judge Lopez noted problems with the auction process but no impropriety.
He said the court-appointed bankruptcy trustee in charge of the auction made a “good faith mistake” by quickly asking for a final bid on InfoWars instead of encouraging more back-and-forth bidding.
“This sector should be reopened and should be open to everyone.”
The Onion originally planned to kick Jones off the show and relaunch InfoWars as a spoof in January. (AP: Jill Blade)
Only two bidders showed interest in Infowars
During the hearing, a trustee overseeing the Infowars bankruptcy auction told the judge that he chose The Onion’s bid because it was much better than the only other proposal.
Another proposal comes from a firm owned by Alex Jones.
“There were only two people who bid .. and one was better than the other,” Trustee Christopher Murray testified during the second day of the hearing.
When asked how well things were going, he said, “A lot better.”
On November 14, The Onion acquired the assets of Infowars at auction for $US1.75 million ($2.4 million) in cash and other incentives.
First United American, which operates a website selling nutritional supplements under Jones’ name, offered Jones $3.5 million.
Although the Onion’s cash offer was lower than First Union’s, it also included pledges from many Sandy Hook families to forgo their share of the $750,000 in auction proceeds and donate them to other creditors.
Robbie Parker, whose daughter was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, welcomed the InfoWars auction. (Reuters: Michelle McLaughlin)
Jones continued broadcasting during the hearing
Jones was not present at the conference but broadcast it from his studio in Austin.
“I can’t imagine a judge would approve of this kind of fraud,” Jones said on Tuesday’s show.
“I mean, it’s just dizzying what they’re doing and what they’re claiming.”
The trustee and The Onion denied Jones and the company’s allegations and accused them of rebelliousness.
How Sandy Hook families teamed up with The Onion in the battle for Infowars
The photo shows a man holding his forehead with his hand
If the sale goes through, the Infowars website would relaunch its satire targeting conspiracy theorists and right-wing commentators.
Jones has set up an alternative studio, website and social media accounts in case The Onion gets approval to buy InfoWars and kick him out.
He said he could continue to use the Infowars platform if the auction winner treated him well.
The sale of Infowars is part of Jones’ personal bankruptcy, which he filed in late 2022 after being ordered to pay a nearly $1.5 billion defamation lawsuit filed by relatives of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
Jones has repeatedly called the 2012 shooting that killed 20 children and six educators a hoax staged by actors.
Many of the victims’ parents and children testified in court that they were traumatized by Jones’s schemes and the threats from his followers.
He later admitted that the Connecticut school shooting did happen.
Jones appealed the $1.5 billion verdict, citing his free speech rights.
electric wire