In a significant development on Friday, a federal judge ordered the liquidation of Alex Jones, a noted conspiracy theorist’s, personal assets but dismissed his company’s separate bankruptcy case. This has led to an uncertain future for his Infowars media platform, as Jones owes a whopping $1.5 billion for his false claims that the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was a hoax.
Judge Christopher Lopez approved converting Jones’ proposed personal bankruptcy reorganization to a liquidation but rejected the attempted reorganization of his company, Free Speech Systems. Many families of Sandy Hook had requested the company also be liquidated.
Impact on Free Speech Systems
If Free Speech Systems’ bankruptcy reorganization had been converted to a liquidation:
- Jones could have lost ownership of the company.
- The company’s social media accounts, the Infowars studio in Austin, and all copyrights could have been sold as the company’s possessions.
Jones, however, appeared relieved as the judge dismissed the company’s case.
The future of Free Speech Systems and Infowars remains unclear. One possibility is that the company and Infowars continue operations while efforts to recover the $1.5 billion debt are made in state courts in Texas and Connecticut, where the families won lawsuits against Jones, as per the lawyers involved with the case.
Alternative Scenario
Another scenario is that lawyers for the Sandy Hook families return to the bankruptcy court and request Lopez to liquidate the company as part of Jones’ personal case, given that Jones owns the business.
Judge Lopez clarified that his sole focus was what would be best for the company and its creditors, including the Sandy Hook families. He also noted that Free Speech Systems’ case appeared to be one of the longest running of its kind in the country and was approaching a deadline to resolve it.
Liquidation of Personal Assets
Many of Jones’ personal assets will be sold off, but his primary home in the Austin area and some other belongings are exempt from bankruptcy liquidation. Jones is aggressively trying to sell his Texas ranch worth about $2.8 million, a gun collection, and other assets to pay debts.
In the lead-up to Friday’s hearing, Jones had been warning his web viewers and radio listeners that Free Speech Systems was on the verge of being shut down due to bankruptcy. He urged his followers to download videos from his online archive for preservation and directed them to a new website if they want to continue buying the dietary supplements he sells on his show.
The Bankruptcy Case
Jones and Free Speech Systems filed for bankruptcy protection in 2022 when relatives of many victims of the 2012 school shooting won lawsuit judgments of more than $1.4 billion in Connecticut and $49 million in Texas. The relatives stated that they were traumatized by Jones’ comments and the actions of his followers. They have testified about being harassed and threatened by Jones’ believers, some of whom confronted the grieving families in person, claiming that the shooting never happened and their children never existed.
Conclusion
Jones has since acknowledged that the Sandy Hook shooting did happen but continues to claim on his recent shows that Democrats and the “deep state” are conspiring to shut down his companies and take away his free speech rights. He also stated that the Sandy Hook families are being used as pawns in this conspiracy. The families’ lawyers have dismissed these claims as nonsense. The families also have a pending lawsuit in Texas accusing Jones of illegally diverting and hiding millions of dollars. Jones has denied these allegations.
To stay updated with the trends, issues, and executives shaping corporate finance, subscribe to the CFO Daily newsletter for free.
