Alex Jones gets temporary reprieve in ruling on liquidation of personal assets
Houston, Texas - A judge on Friday approved the liquidation of Alex Jones' personal assets, which will go towards covering some of the nearly $1.5 billion in damages he owes the families of Sandy Hook school shooting victims.
But the bankruptcy judge in Houston spared Jones from liquidating the parent company of his far-right, conspiracy theory-peddling website InfoWars, in a reprieve that will allow it to remain in business – for now.
The serial provocateur had been ordered to pay damages for calling the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook elementary – which left 20 first-graders and six adults dead – a "hoax."
Jones declared personal bankruptcy in Texas, his home state, in 2022, saying his liabilities far exceeded his private assets that the latest court filings show are worth around $9 million.
Free Speech Systems, the Texas-based parent company of InfoWars, also declared bankruptcy.
The judge on Friday allowed Jones to convert his personal bankruptcy case into a straightforward liquidation, which will yield only a small fraction of the damages awarded to the victims' families.
Alex Jones boasts of "amazing victory"
The ruling means many of Jones' personal assets – including a Texas ranch worth about $2.8 million – will be sold off to help pay the debts. Some assets, such as his home in the Austin area, are exempt from bankruptcy liquidation, reports said.
Jones would have lost control of the lucrative InfoWars business empire if the court had ordered the liquidation of the parent company.
Before the ruling, Jones had been warning his vast right-wing audience that his company was on the verge of being shut down.
Earlier Friday, one headline on his website read: "This could be THE LAST broadcast of Infowars! DO NOT miss this!"
But after the judge's decision, InfoWars hailed the "amazing victory" for the website in court, allowing it to "stay in business."
"We gotta celebrate the fact that we're not dead yet," Jones said.
Cover photo: REUTERS