As reported by CNN, Alex Jones has taken a significant step to liquidate his personal assets, acquiescing to the demands of the families of Sandy Hook victims to whom he owes over $1.5 billion in damages for claims about the 2012 school shooting.
This move could potentially lead to Jones relinquishing ownership of Infowars, the prominent conspiracy media outlet he established in the late 1990s. Infowars has been utilized by Jones not only to disseminate conspiracy theories but also to amass substantial personal wealth.
Having previously resisted changing his personal bankruptcy to a Chapter 7 liquidation, Jones succumbed to mounting legal pressure and yielded to the demands of the Sandy Hook families, who have yet to receive any compensation from Jones following court judgments against him for defamation and emotional distress.
Chris Mattei, legal representatives of the Sandy Hook families, revealed to CNN that the transition to Chapter 7 bankruptcy will expedite the conclusion of Jones' bankruptcies and facilitate the liquidation of his assets, including his ownership in Free Speech Systems, the parent company of Infowars. “Converting the case to Chapter 7 will hasten the end of these bankruptcies and facilitate the liquidation of Jones’s assets, which is the same reason we have moved to convert his company’s case to Chapter 7.”
It should be noted that Jones has effectively not been in control of Infowars for some time, as Free Speech Systems had also filed for bankruptcy protection, placing the company's operations under the oversight of a court-appointed restructuring officer.
A hearing has been scheduled to determine the outcome of Free Speech Systems' bankruptcy. Regardless of the result, Jones' legal maneuver sets the stage for a court-appointed trustee to liquidate his personal assets, which encompass his stake in Infowars.
However, the liquidation of Jones' assets does not necessarily signify the end of Infowars. Various possibilities exist, including the sale of the business to a new owner by the court-appointed trustee.