The walls are closing in on Alex Jones
A Supreme Court appeal, a fading business, and a billion-dollar reckoning closing in on Infowars.
With a Supreme Court appeal pending, a bankruptcy trustee backing out, and a receiver ready to take over, Alex Jones’ Infowars empire is hanging by a thread.
Jones wants the Supreme Court to block more than $1.4 billion in defamation judgments tied to his false claims about the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting. His lawyers argue the verdict tramples his free speech rights and that he was denied a fair trial.
The appeal lands as his business faces collapse. In August, a Texas judge put receiver Gregory Milligan in charge of Free Speech Systems, Infowars’ parent company. The order lets Milligan seize and sell company property to help pay the Sandy Hook families, even authorizing him to change locks and use police if needed. If enforced, it could shut Jones out of his own studios.
A bankruptcy trustee in Houston has meanwhile signaled he’ll walk away from trying to sell the company after months without a buyer. That could hand full control to the state receiver, clearing the path to liquidation.
Jones has blasted the rulings as political and vowed to keep broadcasting from other locations. But lawyers for the families say he’s been moving money between related companies, a maneuver they claim could violate court orders if it’s meant to hide assets or keep Infowars running. The receiver and trustee are reviewing those transfers closely.
The courts in Connecticut and Texas have upheld the judgments, and the Connecticut Supreme Court refused to hear his appeal earlier this year. His petition to Washington may be the final shot at delaying collection.
In a separate episode, a Justice Department official was forced to pull back an inquiry into one of the plaintiffs in the case. Ed Martin, who leads the DOJ’s “Weaponization Working Group,” sent a letter to attorney Christopher Mattei questioning former FBI agent William Aldenberg’s testimony at Jones’ trial. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche ordered the letter withdrawn after it drew backlash, and after Jones posted it online.
Mattei said the letter continued Jones’ campaign of harassment against the Sandy Hook families. Aldenberg, one of the first to reach the classrooms that day, testified through tears about years of threats from believers in Jones’ conspiracy theories. Jones was ordered to pay him $90 million.
The Supreme Court hasn’t said whether it will take the case. If it doesn’t, the receiver could move ahead, and the network Jones built around Infowars may not survive much longer.
Sources
Alex Jones asks Supreme Court to block Sandy Hook judgment — USA Today
Judge appoints receiver to sell off Alex Jones’s Infowars assets — Associated Press
Sale of Alex Jones’ Infowars in limbo because bankruptcy trustee hasn’t found a buyer — Houston Chronicle
Appeals court upholds nearly $1.3 billion Sandy Hook verdict against Alex Jones — Reuters
DOJ official ordered to rescind inquiry to FBI agent who sued Alex Jones — ABC News