Owners of The Onion expressed deep disappointment following a judge’s decision to dismiss their bid to acquire Alex Jones’ Infowars company. On Tuesday, a federal bankruptcy judge deemed the auction, alongside The Onion’s winning bid from the previous month, flawed.
Judge Christopher Lopez, after two days of testimony in Houston, criticized the process for its lack of transparency, inequitable conditions, and failure to optimize value for Jones’ creditors. This ruling marks a rare victory for Jones amidst his prolonged legal disputes with families of the Sandy Hook Elementary School victims, who sued him for defamation in 2018.
The families accused Jones of perpetuating falsehoods about the 2012 shooting, leading his followers to target and threaten them over the years. Judges in Connecticut and Texas found him liable by default when he refused to cooperate at trial, with juries subsequently awarding over a billion dollars in damages. Jones is appealing these decisions. His media company, Free Speech Systems, was ordered to be sold to help settle part of his debts.
The Connecticut families voiced their disappointment through attorney Chris Mattei, especially as the decision comes near the anniversary of the December 14 shooting. Mattei emphasized the families’ determination to hold Jones accountable.
Ben Collins, CEO of The Onion’s parent company Global Tetrahedron, expressed his intent to continue seeking a resolution favorable to the Sandy Hook families, lamenting the lack of a clear path forward for any bidder.
In an emergency broadcast, Jones celebrated the decision as a victory, criticizing the auction as corrupt and dismissing The Onion’s offer as ridiculous.
Judge Lopez rejected claims of a rigged process and collusion involving the Trustee and The Onion. He acknowledged that while all parties acted in good faith, the trustee should have pursued a better offer for the families. He described the process as “doomed” when the trustee opted for sealed bids over a live auction.
The losing bid came from First United American Companies, aligned with Jones, which offered $3.5 million for Infowars. The Onion, in collaboration with the Connecticut families, proposed $1.75 million in cash with additional terms to raise the bid to an estimated $7 million. The families were willing to forego some of their entitlement to increase funds for other creditors, including Texas families. However, the judge found both offers inadequate.
Judge Lopez directed the trustee to devise a more profitable sale strategy within 30 days. As a result, Jones can continue broadcasting under the Infowars brand for now. Had The Onion succeeded, Jones would have needed to rebuild his brand from a different studio. The Onion aimed to end Infowars’ disinformation and replace it with satire, while promoting gun violence prevention through a partnership with Everytown for Gun Safety.
Tuesday’s contentious hearing extended late into the night, with attorneys for Jones and FUAC aggressively questioning trustee Christopher Murray, leading to objections and reminders for decorum. Murray defended the auction method as optimal for creditor value, stating The Onion’s offer was superior.
Jones, who has broadcast conspiracy theories for 25 years, faced social media bans but was reinstated by Elon Musk to Twitter, now X, last year. Jones is fighting to keep his X account from becoming part of his bankruptcy estate. A deal between the trustee and X allows the sale of Infowars content but not the accounts. The judge’s decision complicates this arrangement.
Bruce Markell, former bankruptcy judge and Northwestern law professor, described the decision as shocking, emphasizing the mounting costs of dealing with Jones. Attorney Mattei assured that efforts to hold Jones accountable will continue until he fulfills his financial obligations.
