Right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones moved Thursday to liquidate his personal assets, agreeing to demands from the families of the Sandy Hook victims, to whom he owes more than $1.5 billion in damages for his lies about the 2012 school massacre.
The seismic shift paves the way for a future in which Jones will no longer own Infowars, the influential conspiracy empire he founded in the late 1990s. Over the years, Jones has not only used the social media company to poison discourse public with vile lies and conspiracy theories, but also to enrich themselves with millions of dollars.
Before Thursday, Jones resisted converting his personal bankruptcy to Chapter 7 liquidation. But, facing mounting legal pressure, he reversed course and gave in to the demands of the Sandy Hook families, who still haven’t seen a dime from Jones since juries in Connecticut and Texas found him liable in 2022 for defamation and emotional distress. His lawyers said in a filing that there was “no reasonable prospect of a successful reorganization” and that continuing down the path would only result in additional expenses incurred by Jones.
The legal maneuver ultimately “means [Jones’] ownership of Free Speech Systems will be sold,” Avi Moshenberg, an attorney representing some of the Sandy Hook families, told CNN on Thursday night, referring to Infowars’ parent company.
“Converting the case to Chapter 7 will hasten the end of these bankruptcies and make it easier to liquidate Jones’ assets, which is the same reason we moved to convert his company’s case to Chapter 7,” Chris Mattei, another attorney representing the Sandy Hook families, told CNN.
Technically, Jones hasn’t controlled the Infowars business for some time, as Free Speech Systems also filed for bankruptcy protection. The company’s activity has therefore been under the supervision of a court-appointed restructuring officer.
A hearing is scheduled for next Friday to determine the fate of Free Speech Systems’ bankruptcy.
But regardless of what happens in that case, Thursday’s legal action sets the stage for a court-appointed administrator to liquidate Jones’ personal assets, which include his stake in Infowars.
The liquidation of Jones’ assets does not mean that Infowars will cease to exist. Several outcomes are possible. The court-appointed administrator could sell the company to another owner, for example.
A representative for Jones did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday evening.
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