A judge has blocked a settlement between Sandy Hook families and right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, a deal that would have allowed for a second attempt to auction off Jones’ media company, Infowars.
On Wednesday, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez said the families of the elementary school shooting victims’ attempt to divide Jones’ assets exceeded his court’s authority.
“I can’t do that,” Lopez said, per Reuters. “That case is closed.”
The decision complicates a proposed sale of Jones’ Infowars platform, and could spur divisions between families who sued Jones and won nearly US$1.3 billion (C$1.86 billion) in Connecticut court cases and those who won US$50 million (C$71.7 million) in Texas courts. The two groups of families had proposed a settlement that would guarantee the Texas families a 25 per cent share of Jones’ future payments made to the Sandy Hook families, with the Connecticut families taking 75 per cent.
Through his media platform, Jones repeatedly told his millions of followers the 2012 massacre that killed 20 first graders and six educators was staged by “crisis actors” to enact more gun control.
The families said Jones’ conspiracy theories prompted his fan base to harass, stalk and threaten them for years.
Jones has since acknowledged that the Connecticut school shooting happened.
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The legal judgements tanked Infowars and its parent company, Free Speech Systems, driving both into bankruptcy in 2022.
Lopez said both can still be sold in Jones’ ongoing personal bankruptcy, but said he preferred that they be sold together — a “pure sale” — instead of Infowars’ assets divided up and sold separately.
Lopez said the families and Jones’ bankruptcy trustee could resolve the issue in state court or return with another settlement proposal, according to Courthouse News Service.
“What this debtor needs, and what these families need, is finality in bankruptcy so they can pursue their remedies in state court, which is where they started,” the outlet reported Lopez as saying.
The judge’s decision this week follows his decision last December to reject the auction sale of Infowars to The Onion, a satirical news outlet. At the time, he criticized the bidding for the conspiracy theory platform as flawed, as well as how much money families of the shooting stood to receive.
The Onion had planned to kick Jones out and relaunch Infowars in January as a parody.
The families’ lawyers had said the agreement would smooth the way for a sale of Jones’ assets, including Infowars, after their previous disagreements over how to pursue Jones’ assets. In the past, the Texas-based families focused on taking more cash from Jones, while the Connecticut-based families prioritized the shutdown of Jones’ Infowars company.
Chris Mattei, a lawyer for the Connecticut families, said they remain determined to “enforce every penny of judgments against Alex Jones.”
Meanwhile, Jones celebrated the decision on his live show Wednesday, saying the “judge completely devastated” those trying to bring him down, which quickly turned into a sales pitch for his products.
“It takes a lot of money to fight these people,” he said. “Now we’re at the thick of the battle. … I need you to back me.”
— With files from The Associated Press and Reuters
