US court allows sale of Alex Jones' assets
June 15, 2024
A US judge on Friday approved the liquidation of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones' personal assets.
It comes as part of a bankruptcy case sparked by nearly $1.5 billion (€1.4 billion) in damages he owes families whose loved ones were killed in a school shooting.
Why did Alex Jones file for bankruptcy?
Jones had been ordered to pay damages for calling a 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in the northeastern state of Connecticut a "hoax."
Six adults and 20 children were killed in the massacre. Jones has since acknowledged that the shooting occurred.
The InfoWars host later declared personal bankruptcy in his home state of Texas, saying that his liabilities far exceeded his private assets worth around $9 million.
The Friday ruling means that many of Jones' personal assets, including a property in Texas worth around $2.8 million, will be sold to pay off the liabilities. Some assets are exempt from the liquidation process, including a home in the area of the Texas city of Austin.
InfoWars parent company not liquidated
Free Speech Systems, which is the parent company of the far-right InfoWars portal, also declared bankruptcy after Jones was ordered to pay damages.
The judge on Friday dismissed the bankruptcy of Jones' company without ordering it be liquidated.
Bankruptcy judge Christopher Lopez said that Jones would be free to continue to run the company until the trustee sells his ownership stake.
Lopez rejected an argument by some family members of victims of the Sandy Hook shooting that Jones should not be allowed to regain control of the InfoWars, saying the proceedings had not affected Jones' broadcasts.
"There's been lots of talk about whether Mr Jones has regained control of the business, but the reality is he never really lost it," the judge said.
sdi/sri (AFP, AP, Reuters)