A federal judge late Tuesday threw out the sale of conspiracy platform Infowars to satirical media outlet The Onion after Alex Jones claimed a recent bankruptcy auction was rife with illegal collusion.
The Onion was named the winner on November 14 against a company affiliated with Jones. The ruling by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez means Jones can stay with Infowars in Austin, Texas. The Onion planned to expel Jones and relaunch Infowars in January as a parody.
At the end of a lengthy two-day hearing in a Texas courtroom, Lopez criticized the auction process as flawed and said the outcome “left a lot of money on the table” for the families of the victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
“You have to scratch and claw and get everything you can for them,” Lopez said.
The Onion offered $1.75 million in cash and other incentives for Infowars’ assets at the auction. First United American Companies, which runs a website in Jones’ name that sells nutritional supplements, offered $3.5 million.
Lopez cited problems — but no wrongdoing — with the auction process. He said he didn’t want another auction and left it to the trustee who oversaw the auction to determine next steps.
Administrator Christopher Murray defended The Onion’s offer during the hearing.
“Only two people showed up to bid and … one was just better than the other,” Murray testified, referring to The Onion. When asked how much better it was, he said “by a lot.”
Although The Onion’s cash offer was lower than First United American’s, it also included a commitment from many Sandy Hook families to forfeit $750,000 of the auction proceeds owed to them and to give to other creditors, thereby providing them with more money than they would receive under the First United American offer.
Jones did not attend the debates and instead broadcast from his studios in Austin.
“I can’t imagine the judge would certify this fraud,” Jones said on his show Tuesday. “I mean, what they’ve done and what they’re claiming is head-spinning.”
The trustee and The Onion deny Jones and the company’s allegations and accuse them of sour grapes.
Alex Jones’ bankruptcy case
The sale of Infowars is part of Jones’ personal bankruptcy case, which he filed in late 2022 after being ordered to pay nearly $1.5 billion in defamation lawsuits in Connecticut and Texas brought by relatives of the victims of the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting.
Jones has repeatedly called the shootings that killed 20 children and six educators a hoax staged by actors aimed at increasing gun control. Parents and children of many victims testified in court that they were traumatized by Jones’ plots and threats from his supporters.
Jones has since admitted that the Connecticut school shooting took place.
Most of the proceeds from the sale of Infowars, as well as many of Jones’ personal assets, will go to the Sandy Hook families. Part of the proceeds will go to Jones’ other creditors.
Auction overseer defends decision
Murray testified that he did not favor any bidder over the other and that he did not show bias.
He also revealed that First United American had submitted a revised offer in recent days, but he said he could not accept it because the Sandy Hook families in the Connecticut lawsuit objected.
The Onion valued its offer, as well as that of the Sandy Hook families, at $7 million because that amount was equal to a purchase price that would provide the same amount of money to other creditors.
In a court filing last month, Murray’s lawyers called First United American’s request to disqualify The Onion’s bid “an inappropriate attempt by the disappointed bidder to influence an otherwise fair and open election process.”
Murray’s attorney questioned him Tuesday afternoon, then Jones’ attorney Ben Broocks cross-examined him early in the evening.
Broocks noted that the Sandy Hook trial judgments could be overturned in ongoing appeals and got Murray to acknowledge that the Sandy Hook families’ bid in The Onion bid could collapse if that happened. Indeed, the percentage of the auction proceeds to which they would be entitled could drop considerably and they would not obtain the $750,000 from the sale to give to other creditors.
Broocks also asked Murray about last-minute changes to the proposed sale to The Onion, with Murray responding that they were the result of different views on the numbers being settled.
Auctioneer Jeff Tanenbaum defended both the value of the bid and his selection Monday.
Putting Infowars up for auction
All equipment and other assets of the Infowars studio in Austin were for sale, along with the rights to its social media accounts, websites, video archives and product brands. Jones uses the studio to broadcast his far-right, conspiracy theory-filled shows on the Infowars website, his account on the social platform X and radio stations. Many of Jones’ personal possessions were also sold.
Jones created another studio, websites and social media accounts in case The Onion got approval to buy Infowars and forced it out. Jones said he could continue to use Infowars platforms if the winner of the auction was friendly with him.
Jones is appealing the $1.5 billion judgments citing the right to free speech.
