A federal judge on Tuesday night rejected Sale of conspiracy platform Infowars Alex Jones in the satirical news outlet The Onion claimed that the recent bankruptcy auction was rife with illegal collusion.
Onion was named the winning bidder on November 14 over a company affiliated with Jones. The ruling by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez means Jones can stay at Infowars in Austin, Texas. The Onion had planned to oust Jones and relaunch Infowars as a parody in January.
At the end of a two-day long hearing in a Texas court, Lopez criticized the auction process as flawed and said the outcome “left a lot of money on the table”. For the families of the victims The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting of 2012.
“You have to scratch and claw and get everything you can for them,” Lopez said.
Onion offered $1.75 million in cash and other incentives for Infowars' assets in the auction. First United American Companies, which runs a website selling nutritional supplements in Jones' name, made a bid of $3.5 million.
Lopez cited problems in the auction process – but no wrongdoing. He said he did not want another auction and left it up to the trustee who oversees the auction to determine the next steps.
Trustee Christopher Murray defended The Onion's bid during the hearing.
“Only two people came in to bid and… one was better than the other,” Murray testified, referring to The Onion. Asked how much better it was, he said, “By a lot.”
Although The Onion's cash offer was lower than First United American's, it also included a pledge by several Sandy Hook families to take back $750,000 of the auction proceeds and give it to other creditors, allowing other creditors more money than So to receive. They will be received under the bid from First United American.
Jones did not attend the proceedings and instead broadcast from his studio in Austin.
“I can't imagine that the judge will certify this fraud,” Jones said on his show Tuesday. “I mean, what he did and what he claimed is mind-boggling.”
The trustees and The Onion deny Jones and Company's allegations and accuse them of being sour grapes.
Infowars sale is 'Jones' share' personal bankruptcy caseWhich he filed at the end of 2022 after his order To pay nearly $1.5 billion in defamation lawsuits filed in Connecticut and Texas by relatives of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
Jones repeatedly said the shooting that killed 20 children and six teachers was a hoax staged by actors and intended to increase gun control. Parents and children of several victims testified in court that they were traumatized by Jones's plots and threats from his followers.
Jones has since admitted that the Connecticut school shooting occurred.
Most of the proceeds from the sale of Infowars, as well as many of Jones' personal assets, will go to the Sandy Hook families. Some of the proceeds will go to Jones' other creditors.
Murray testified that he did not favor any bidder over another and was not biased.
He also revealed that First United American had submitted a revised bid in recent days, but said he could not accept it because the Sandy Hook families in the Connecticut lawsuit had objected.
Along with the Sandy Hook families' offer, Onion valued its bid at $7 million because that amount was comparable to the purchase price that would offer the same amount to other creditors.
In a court filing last month, Murray's lawyers described First United American's request to disqualify The Onion's bid as “an unfair attempt by a disappointed bidder to influence an otherwise fair and open election process.”
Murray's attorney questioned him Tuesday afternoon, then Jones' attorney Ben Brooks cross-examined him in the evening.
Brooks noted that the verdict in the Sandy Hook trial could be overturned pending appeals and asked Murray to acknowledge that if that happened, the Sandy Hook families' offer in The Onion bid could fail. This is because the percentage of the auction proceeds to which they will be entitled could drop sharply and they would not get $750,000 from the sale to give to other creditors.
Brooks also questioned Murray about last-minute changes to the proposed sale to The Onion, with Murray responding that they were the result of differing viewpoints on the disposal of the numbers.
Auctioneer Jeff Tannenbaum defended both the price of the bid and its selection on Monday.
Up for sale was all of the equipment and other assets of InfoWars Studios in Austin, as well as the rights to its social media accounts, websites, video collection and product trademarks. Jones uses the studio to broadcast his far-right, conspiracy theory-filled show on the website InfoWars, his account on the social platform X, and on radio stations. Many of Jones' personal properties are also being sold.
Jones has set up another studio, website and social media accounts if The Onion gets approval to buy Infowars and spins him out. Jones has said he may continue to use the Infowars platform if the auction winner is a good fit.
Jones is appealing the $1.5 billion verdict, citing his right to free speech.