The auction of Alex Jones' Infowars to satirical news outlet The Onion was rejected by a judge late Tuesday night, leaving the bidding process open to question as the families of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings questioned the amount of money they would receive. criticized for being flawed.
After a two-day hearing, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez in Houston ruled that Infowars' auction did not result in the best possible bid.
But he denied Mr Jones' claims that there was “collusion” in the auction.
As Breitbart News reported, The Onion was named the winning bidder for Jones' affiliates on Nov. 14, but Jones' platform is up for sale as part of Jones' bankruptcy case. It had been. Approximately 1.5 billion dollars A court ordered him to pay restitution for falsely claiming that the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history was a hoax.
The decision not to approve the sale means Jones can remain at Infowars' headquarters in Austin, Texas. The Onion had planned to oust Jones and reopen Infowars in January. as a parody.
Ben Collins, CEO of Global Tetrahedron, The Onion's parent company, said: “While we are extremely disappointed in today's decision, The Onion remains committed to positive response to the horrors endured by the Sandy Hook family.'' We will continue to search for solutions that will yield results.” on social media late Tuesday. reported By AP. The outlet further states:
Lopez said that although there were problems with the auction process, there was no fraud. He said he did not want a new auction and would leave decisions on next steps up to the trustees who oversaw the auction.
Onion offered $1.75 million in cash and other incentives for Infowars' assets at auction. First United American Companies, which operates a website selling nutritional supplements under Mr. Jones' name, made a bid of $3.5 million.
The bid was a fraction of the amount Jones was ordered to pay in defamation lawsuits filed in Connecticut and Texas by relatives of Sandy Hook shooting victims. Lopez said the auction results “left a lot of money” for the family.
“We have to scratch and scratch and get everything we can for them,” Lopez said.
Sandy Hook family attorney Christopher Mattei, who sued Jones in Connecticut, said he was disappointed with the judge's ruling.
“The families, who have already overcome countless delays and obstacles, will continue to show their continued tenacity and determination to hold Alex Jones and his corrupt companies accountable for the damage he has caused,” Matei said in a statement. “I have it,” he said. “This decision does not change the fact that Alex Jones will soon begin paying the debt to these families and will continue to do so for as long as necessary.”
The attack killed 20 children and six school staff.
After the killing, Jones and guests questioned whether the massacre had actually occurred and floated conspiracy theories about whether the murder was fabricated or carried out by government agents.
Jones did not attend the trial, but quickly returned to the airwaves to praise the judge's decision.
“We can celebrate that the judge did the right thing in the most ridiculous fraudulent auction in human history,” he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this article
