The bankruptcy trustee for Alex Jones said on Monday that he plans to shut down Jones’ media site Infowars and liquidate his business assets to repay the families of the victims of the Sandy Hook High School shooting.
Court-appointed trustee Christopher Murray said in an “emergency” motion that he would conduct an “orderly winding down” of Infowars and sell its assets.
The announcement came weeks after a federal judge in Texas ordered Jones to liquidate his personal assets. The judge had not yet decided Infowars’ fate at the time.
The conservative media host used the platform to repeatedly denounce as fake the 2012 shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, that killed 20 first-graders and six teachers, which resulted in a nearly $1.5 billion damage judgment against Jones and forced him to declare bankruptcy.
Family members of the victim also tried to take over Jones’ social media accounts.
Jones has continued broadcasting on Infowars throughout the bankruptcy process, but has said he expects the platform to shut down within the next few months. He has pledged to continue the show on another platform or as an employee under new ownership, but details of his plans are unclear.
“Infowars will probably end soon, if not today then within the next few weeks or months,” Jones told reporters outside the courtroom before a hearing earlier this month, The Associated Press reported. “But this is just the beginning of my fight against tyranny.”
Murray also asked Judge Christopher Lopez to halt efforts by Texas victims’ families to collect funds from Jones during the sale, arguing they would interfere with the process. Proceeds from the asset sales will be returned to the families.
Jones lost two lawsuits related to the Sandy Hook shooting: a $50 million judgment from a Texas family and a $1.4 billion judgment from 20 Connecticut families.
Regarding the Texas family’s recovery efforts, Murray said in court documents Sunday: [Infowars’s] He said a drain on the company’s assets, including cash, could disrupt and possibly shut down the business and impede Jones’s ability to perform his duties in his personal bankruptcy case.
“The trustee is seeking court intervention to prevent a value-destructive theft and ensure an orderly process,” Murray said.
An attorney representing the Connecticut families involved in the lawsuit said he supports Murray’s efforts and was “disappointed” that the Texas families had tried to recover the funds separately.
“This is exactly the unfortunate situation the Connecticut families wanted to avoid,” said attorney Christopher Mattei. He told the Associated Press.
The families have yet to receive any money from Jones in connection with the judgment and are unlikely to receive the bulk of the hefty fine.
Jones said in court documents. Less than $12 million That means he will be left with huge legal liabilities even after the media platform and other assets are sold.
