With support from families of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, the satirical news publication The Onion has sold Alex Jones' “Infowars'' at a bankruptcy auction. Jones owes more than $1 billion from a libel judgment that claims the massacre was a hoax, his family announced. Thursday.
Robbie Parker, whose daughter Emily was killed in a mass shooting in Connecticut in 2012, said: “The dissolution of Alex Jones' assets and the death of Infowars is something we have been waiting for for many years. This is the justice we have fought for,” his lawyers said in a statement.
The sale price was not immediately disclosed.
Jones acknowledged the Onion's acquisition of Infowars in a social media video Thursday and said he would file a legal challenge to block it. An email message seeking comment was sent to Infowars.
“The last broadcast is live from the Infowars studio. They are inside the building, ordering the closure without court approval,” Jones said on social platform X.
Jones was broadcasting live from the Infowars studio on Thursday morning, looking distraught with his head resting on his desk.
It was not immediately clear what The Onion plans to do with its conspiracy theory platform, including its website, social media accounts, studio in Austin, Texas, trademarks and video archives. Chicago-based Onion Inc. did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Thursday.
Sealed bidding for the private auction began Wednesday. Jones' supporters and detractors alike expressed interest in buying Infowars. Other bidders have not been disclosed.
The Onion, a satirical site that seeks to make people believe absurd things, describes itself as “the world's leading news publication providing highly regarded and widely respected coverage of breaking national, international and local news.” It states that the total number of cases is 4.3 trillion. daily reader.
Jones has said on his show that if his detractors buy Infowars, he plans to move his daily broadcasts and merchandise sales to a new studio, website and social media accounts he has already set up. He also said that if his backers win the bid, they can stay on the Infowars platform.
Many relatives of the 20 children and six educators killed in the shooting repeatedly said on the show that the Newtown, Conn., shooting was a hoax orchestrated by emergency managers to enforce stricter gun control. He sued Jones and his company for defamation and emotional distress for his comments. .
Many of the victims' parents and children were traumatized by Jones' plot. Threats by his followers.
The lawsuits were filed in Connecticut and Texas. Lawyers for the families in the Connecticut case said they worked with Onion to try to buy Infowars.
