A U.S. bankruptcy court trustee is taking steps to shut down Alex Jones' Infowars media platform and liquidate its assets to help pay the $1.5 billion in lawsuit judgments Jones owes for repeatedly calling the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting a hoax. The trustee, Christopher Murray, filed an “emergency” motion in Houston indicating his intention to wind down Infowars' parent company and sell off its assets, with much of the proceeds going to the Sandy Hook families.
Jones, who has been vocal about expecting Infowars to operate for a few more months before shutting down due to bankruptcy, has expressed plans to continue his broadcasts through other means, possibly on social media. Murray has asked U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez to halt the Sandy Hook families' efforts to collect the money owed by Jones, stating that it would interfere with his plans to close the parent company.
The families of Sandy Hook victims have won significant judgments against Jones for defamation and emotional distress related to his false claims about the shooting. Despite the legal victories, the families have not received any payment from Jones yet, and it is likely that they will only receive a fraction of the amount owed to them. Jones has personal assets valued at about $9 million, while Free Speech Systems, the parent company of Infowars, has about $6 million in cash and $1.2 million worth of inventory.
The bankruptcy proceedings have shifted the families' collection efforts from federal bankruptcy court to state courts in Texas and Connecticut. Jones and Free Speech Systems filed for bankruptcy protection in 2022, the same year that the families of Sandy Hook victims won their lawsuits against him. Jones is appealing the judgments in state courts, claiming that his right to free speech allowed him to spread false information about the shooting.