Alex Jones’ InfoWars website files for bankruptcy after being found liable for damages in lawsuit

Alex Jones’ InfoWars website has filed for bankruptcy after being found liable for damages in three lawsuits last year for falsely claiming that the 2012 Sandy Hook school massacre that left 28 dead was a prank.

The far-right website and Jones’ other two companies on Sunday filed for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas in the face of multiple defamation lawsuits.

Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings put a stop to all civil litigation and allow companies to prepare recovery plans while remaining operational.

Jones claimed the shooting, in which 20 children and six school workers were shot dead at the school in Newtown, Connecticut, was fabricated by gun control advocates and the mainstream media. audience.

In late March, the Sandy Hook families rejected Jones’ offer to settle their libel suit and reopened the case. Jones had offered to pay each of the 13 plaintiffs $120,000 to settle the case.

Each of the plaintiffs declined the settlement offer in court papers, saying: “The so-called offer is a transparent and desperate attempt by Alex Jones to evade public trial under oath with his deceitful and lucrative campaign against the plaintiffs and the memory of their loved ones lost at Sandy Hook.

In late March, the Sandy Hook families rejected Jones’ offer to settle their libel suit and reopened the case. Jones had offered to pay each of the 13 plaintiffs $120,000 to settle the case

According to Sunday’s court documents, InfoWars listed his estimated assets between $0 and $50,000 and his estimated liabilities between $1 million and $10 million.

In the aftermath of the massacre, Jones said on his InfoWars platform that the shooting was “completely fake” and a “giant hoax”.

The platform claimed the families involved were all “crisis actors” hired to perpetuate a government program to increase gun control.

On December 14, 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot and killed 26 people in Newtown, Connecticut at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Twenty of those killed were between six and seven years old.

Lanza shot and killed his mother in their home before going to school, then killed himself when the police arrived.

Families of the victims filed a libel suit against Jones in 2018, claiming he profited by spreading lives over the murders of their loved ones.

The Texas-based host has since said he believes the shooting happened.

Jones disputed their claims, but did not turn over documents and financial records to support his position after being ordered to do so before leading judges in Connecticut and Texas to issue default judgments against him.

Jones’ attorneys claimed the lawsuits were filed strategically to silence his and his entities’ right to free speech on matters of public interest.

Adam Lanza, who authorities say opened fire inside Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, killing 20 first graders, six educators and himself in December 2012

Connecticut State Police lead a line of children from Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut on Friday, Dec. 14, 2012 after the shooting

Jones was ordered to pay damages to the families in October 2021 and a trial will take place in August to decide how much he will have to pay the families.

Jones was scheduled to sit for a deposition March 23-24 in Austin, Texas, where his InfoWars empire is based. He didn’t show up.

Judge Barbara Bellis of Westbury, Connecticut, did not accept Jones’ apology for missing the deposition. Jones said he suffered from medical issues, including dizziness.

Doctors feared that his health problems were heart disease. Jones said he just had a sinus infection. Bellis’ opinion was that Jones was not too ill to attend the deposition.

Records show Jones taped episodes of his InfoWars show on March 23 and 24. Both episodes lasted nearly four hours.

Jones was fined $25,000 for missing a deposition on April 1. On April 4, he paid another $50,000. Attorneys for the Sandy Hook families asked Bellis to issue an arrest warrant due to Jones’ no-show.

Eventually, Jones sat down for deposition in Bridgeport, Connecticut, on April 5 and 6. Following these appearances, Bellis decreed that the $75,000 should be returned to Jones.

Pictured: Guns and ammunition found on or near the body of shooters at Sandy Hook Elementary School after the December 14, 2012 shooting

People gather at the scene of a shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012 in Newtown, Connecticut

Earlier in April 2022, some of the families involved in the lawsuit launched a new lawsuit against Jones.

In that lawsuit, the families accuse Jones of attempting to hide assets in shell companies operated by family members. The purpose of the move is to make Jones appear broke, according to the suit.

During a break in his testimony for the trial, Jones spoke to News12 Connecticut about “cancel culture” and alleged that he had been victimized by “corporate media.” He accused the “media” of not publicizing his apology to the families of the Sandy Hook victims.

Jones said “powerful Democratic law firms” were trying to shut down InfoWars. One of the plaintiffs’ attorneys in the Sandy Hook story is Sen. Richard Blumenthal’s (D-Conn.) son, Matt Blumenthal.

Matt Blumenthal, a Marine Corps veteran who served in Afghanistan, is also an elected member of the Connecticut House.

In a 2019 deposition in the case, Jones alleged he was suffering from a form of ‘psychosis’ when he claimed Sandy Hook was staged. He said he was in a place where he felt every news event was staged because of the “trauma of media and corporations lying so much”.

Jones, a staunch supporter of former US President Donald Trump, had previously been subpoenaed by the House of Representatives committee investigating the January 2021 attack on the US Capitol by Trump supporters.