Alex Jones responds to Infowars being acquired by The Onion in bidding war to pay Sandy Hook judgement
Houston, Texas - The satirical news website The Onion recently won conspiracy theorist Alex Jones' Infowars show in a bidding auction to help him pay the massive judgment he owes to Sandy Hook families.
According to CNN, The Onion acquired the intellectual property of Free Speech Systems, the parent company for Infowars, which includes websites, customer lists, inventory, and certain social media accounts.
The amount of the sale has not been publicly released.
"The Onion is proud to acquire Infowars, and we look forward to continuing its storied tradition of scaring the site's users with lies until they fork over their cold, hard cash," joked The Onion CEO Ben Collins.
"Or Bitcoin. We will also accept Bitcoin."
Jones owes nearly $1.5 billion in legal damages that he was ordered to pay in 2022 after relatives of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting sued him for repeatedly claiming that the shooting was staged by the US government and that the victims and families were "crisis actors."
Back in September, Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez approved auctions for Jones' ownership of Free Speech Systems to help pay the massive judgment.
In a video shared to X on Thursday, Jones called the case "unconstitutional," and vowed to stay in his office, demanding to see a court order "until they come in there and turn the lights off."
The families of Sandy Hook shooting victims help make Infowars sale happen
The families of eight victims and one first responder revealed in a statement that they "agreed to forgo a portion of their recovery to increase the overall value of The Onion's bid, enabling its success."
"After surviving unimaginable loss with courage and integrity, they rejected Jones' hollow offers for allegedly more money if they would only let him stay on the air because doing so would have put other families in harm's way," said Chris Mattei, attorney for the families.
The Onion plans to roll out its new content beginning next year, which will also include an exclusive advertising deal with the gun control group Everytown for Gun Safety.
Cover photo: Collage: SERGIO FLORES & Elijah Nouvelage / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP