Alex Jones agrees to liquidate assets to satisfy $1.5 billion Sandy Hook judgment: NPR

Alex Jones, who spread lies about the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting that killed 26 students and staff, abandoned his effort to declare bankruptcy and agreed to liquidate his assets so he could finally begin to pay the nearly $1.5 billion in damages he owes the school. families of the victims.

Relatives of Sandy Hook victims won their defamation cases against Jones in 2021. But they have yet to receive a cent since Jones and his media company filed for bankruptcy protection in 2022.

Chris Mattei, an attorney representing some Sandy Hook families, said Jones was “on the brink of justice” and victims’ loved ones were determined to hold him accountable.

“The people of Connecticut have fought for years to hold his family accountable, no matter the cost and risk to his life. Their steadfast focus on meaningful accountability, not just money, is what has now brought him to the brink of justice in the way that matters most,” Mattei said in a statement.

That could change now that Jones has filed to convert his bankruptcy to liquidation. The request comes after victims’ families asked a Texas bankruptcy judge to liquidate Jones’ media empire and Infowars’ parent company, Free Speech Systems.

The liquidation won’t be enough to cover the amount owed to the families, but it will likely force Jones to relinquish ownership of his far-right media outlet, Infowars, where he spewed false theories for 25 years.

Jones lied on Infowars when he claimed that the shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, which killed 20 first graders – 6- and 7-year-olds – and six teachers, never happened. In lawsuits filed against Jones, victims’ families said they were harassed and tormented by Jones’ listeners because of his lies.

Since then, Jones has testified in a Texas court that he now understands it was irresponsible for him to say the Sandy Hook massacre was a hoax and that he now believes it was “100 percent real.” .

As a result of the defamation suits, Jones and Free Speech Systems filed for bankruptcy. In Jones’ bankruptcy filing, he said he had between $1 million and $10 million in assets and between $1 billion and $10 billion in liabilities.

In 2023, Jones attempted to settle with the victims’ families by offering a minimum settlement of $5.5 million per year for 10 years, with more possible depending on Jones’ income. The families filed a counterproposal seeking the liquidation of virtually all of Jones’ assets, including those related to his Infowars media company. The two sides failed to reach an agreement.

On Sunday, the victims’ families filed an emergency petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston, asking the court to liquidate Free Speech Systems. The bankruptcy judge is due to make his decision on June 14.

Over the weekend, during a taping of Infowars, Jones became emotional — alternating between anger and despair — while discussing the loss of his show and his company.

“I’m not trying to be dramatic here, but it’s been a tough fight,” he said.

NPR’s Tovia Smith contributed reporting.