Alex Jones’ legal team has urged a U.S. bankruptcy judge to block the sale of his Infowars website to satirical news outlet The Onion, claiming the auction process was marred by fraud and collusion. The hearing, held in Houston, follows The Onion’s winning bid in a November bankruptcy auction, which Jones and his affiliated company, First American United Companies, are contesting.
Jones, who declared bankruptcy in 2022, is liquidating assets to pay $1.3 billion in legal judgments to families of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims. Courts have ruled that Jones defamed these families by falsely claiming the massacre was staged.
The Onion plans to transform Infowars into a parody platform with “noticeably less hateful disinformation” by 2025. However, the sale requires final approval from U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez, who previously expressed concerns about the auction’s transparency.
Jones’ attorney, Ben Broocks, argued that The Onion’s bid relied on “smoke and mirrors,” offering only half the cash of the $3.5 million bid from Jones-affiliated First American United Companies. He claimed the auction aimed to harm Jones rather than maximize returns for creditors.
A key factor in The Onion’s winning bid was support from Sandy Hook families, Jones’ largest creditors. These families agreed to delay repayment and instead accept future revenue from the re-launched Infowars. Broocks criticized this arrangement, alleging unfair bias in the auction process.
Christopher Murray, the court-appointed trustee overseeing the sale, defended the auction, stating it was fair and resulted in significantly higher final bids. He dismissed claims of bias, emphasizing that both bidders had equal access to information.
Adding complexity, Elon Musk’s social media platform X filed an objection, asserting ownership of Infowars’ social media accounts. The issue was resolved when The Onion agreed to migrate Infowars’ content to new accounts instead of acquiring the existing ones.
Judge Lopez is set to continue reviewing the case to determine the sale’s validity and ensure creditors’ interests are prioritized.
