WASHINGTON — Infowars conspiracy theorist Alex Jones is seeking permission from a bankruptcy court to liquidate his personal assets and deliver the proceeds to the Sandy Hook families who are owed more than $1.4 billion in damages for his lies about the 2012 school shooting.
Jones also filed a separate bankruptcy for his company, Free Speech Systems, and in a hearing next Friday a judge is to rule whether the company will also be liquidated, an outcome favored by a majority of the families. That would shutter Infowars, effective the day of the ruling. It would also place assets from Infowars’ studios and potentially Jones’ popular social media accounts in control of the families.
Silencing Jones, who for years has broadcast lies ranging from denying the Sandy Hook shooting to denying the results of the 2020 election, would be a definitive win for the families.
“For too long, Alex Jones has profited from the lies and fear that he peddles every day on Infowars, his corrupt business platform,” said Chris Mattei, a lawyer for the families who sued Jones in Connecticut. “The Connecticut families, driven by the principle that Jones must not be allowed to hurt or profit from the pain of others, are now on the brink of stripping him of his ability to inflict mass harm.” Jones could not immediately be reached for comment.
The financial outcome for the families is far less certain. It will likely be years, if ever, before they receive any meaningful share of the financial damages they won.
Jones’ personal and company financial assets combined are worth $10 million to $12 million, nowhere near the more than $1.4 billion juries in Texas and Connecticut awarded to the families in late 2022.
Dividing $10 million by the plaintiffs entitled to damages comes out to $500,000 each. That does not include substantial bankruptcy-related legal and administrative costs, which are paid first.
An earlier court ruling allows the families to pursue Jones for the rest of his life for the money they are owed. But his future personal income is highly uncertain given the judgment hanging over him. Starting a new company like Infowars would be difficult at the outset, but doable in the longer term.
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