Infowars, the media platform owned by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, and its assets will be sold off this fall to help pay the more than $1 billion he owes the families of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez said in a Tuesday court hearing he would approve the order, which will force Jones to sell off the assets in auctions in November, court records say.
Free Speech Systems, which is Infowar's parent company and owned in totality by Jones, will have its ownership transferred to the trustee overseeing Jones's personal bankruptcy case before being sold off.
Jones has vowed to his supporters that he will continue to produce content even after losing control of his company and has said the assets to Infowars could be bought by his supporters.
Back in 2022, the families of the victims of the Sandy Hook shooting won a defamation case of $1.5 billion after they accused the conservative talk-show host of calling the 2012 shooting which left 20 children and six adults dead, a hoax staged by “crisis actors.”
The effects from this case were felt immediately for Jones, who filed for bankruptcy protection as well as his company.
The families that launched the lawsuit against Jones said they were traumatized by his comments and had been harassed and threatened by Jones' supporters following his comments on his show.
Some were confronted in person and were told by Jones' supporters the shooting had never happened. In one case, a parent suing Jones said one of Jones' supporters threatened to dig up his son's grave.
Lopez ordered to convert Jones' bankruptcy reorganization into a liquidation back in June, which means all of his assets will be sold off except his main home and any other exempt property. It is expected that the sell-off auction will begin on Nov. 13, court records said.
Christopher Mattei, a lawyer for the Sandy Hook families in one of the lawsuits against Jones, told the Associated Press the auctions are an important step forward.
“Alex Jones will no longer own or control the company he built,” Mattei said, according to the AP. “This brings the families closer to their goal of holding him accountable for the harm he has caused.”
The items up for sale in November will include Infowars’ trademarks, copyrighted material, social media accounts and websites. However, Jones’ personal social media profiles will not be included in the sale.
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected] and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.