PA MediaA bankruptcy judge has ordered a new hearing in conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ effort to stop the satirical news outlet The Onion from buying Infowars and turning it into a parody.
Jones alleges fraud and collusion marred the bankruptcy auction in which The Onion was named the winning bidder on November 14 over a company affiliated with him.
US bankruptcy judge Christopher Lopez had been scheduled to hear an emergency motion to disqualify The Onion’s bid, but decided to put it off until either December 9 or December 17. That is also when the judge will hear arguments on a request to approve the sale of Infowars to The Onion.
Mr Lopez said similar arguments are being made in both requests.
He could allow The Onion to move forward with the sale, order a new auction or name the other bidder as the winner.
At stake is whether Mr Jones gets to stay at Infowars’ studio in Austin, Texas, under a new owner friendly to him, or whether he gets kicked out by The Onion.
The other bidder, First United American Companies, runs a website in Mr Jones’s name that sells nutritional supplements.
Regardless, Mr Jones has set up a new studio, websites and social media accounts that would allow him to keep airing his show.
His personal account with 3.3 million followers on the social platform X was not part of the sale, although Mr Lopez will be deciding whether it should be included in the liquidation and sold off later.
In a new court filing on Monday, lawyers for X objected to any sale of the accounts of both Mr Jones and Infowars, saying X is the owner of the accounts and that it has not given consent for them to be sold or transferred.
Mr Jones has praised X owner Elon Musk on his show and suggested that Mr Musk should buy Infowars. Mr Musk has not responded publicly to that suggestion and was not among the bidders.
Mr Jones’ bankruptcy and the liquidation of his assets came about after he was ordered to pay nearly $1.5bn (£1.19bn) to relatives of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.
Mr Jones was found liable for defamation and emotional distress damages in lawsuits in Connecticut and Texas for repeatedly calling the 2012 shooting that killed 20 first graders and six educators a hoax staged by actors to increase gun control.
Proceeds from the liquidation are to go to Mr Jones’s creditors, including the Sandy Hook families who sued him.
PA MediaMr Jones alleged The Onion’s bid was the result of fraud and collusion involving many of those families, the humour site and a court-appointed trustee who is overseeing the liquidation.
First United American Companies submitted a $3.5m (£2.7m) sealed bid, while The Onion offered $1.75m (£1.3m) in cash.
But The Onion’s bid also included a pledge by Sandy Hook families to forego some or all of the auction proceeds due to them giving other creditors a total of $100,000 (£79,400) more than they would receive under other bids.
The trustee, Christopher Murray, said that made The Onion’s proposal better for creditors and he named it the winning bid. He has denied any wrongdoing.
Mr Jones and First United American Companies claimed that the bid violated Mr Lopez’s rules for the auction by including multiple entities and lacking a valid dollar amount.
Mr Jones also alleged Mr Murray improperly cancelled an expected round of live bidding and only selected among the sealed bids that were submitted.
Mr Jones called the auction “rigged” and a “fraud” on his show, which airs on the Infowars website, radio stations and his X account.
In a court filing, Mr Murray called the allegations “a disappointed bidder’s improper attempt to influence an otherwise fair and open auction process”.
Mr Lopez’s September order on the auction procedures made a live bidding round optional.
It gave broad authority to Mr Murray to conduct the sale, including the power to reject any bid, no matter how high, that was “contrary to the best interests” of Mr Jones, his company and their creditors.
But at a November 14 hearing, Mr Lopez said he was concerned about the process and transparency.
“We’re all going to an evidentiary hearing and I’m going to figure out exactly what happened,” he said. “No one should feel comfortable with the results of this auction.”
The assets of Infowars’ parent company, Free Speech Systems, that were up for sale included the Austin studio, Infowars’ video archive, video production equipment, product trademarks, and Infowars’ websites and social media accounts.
Mr Jones is appealing the $1.5bn (£1.19bn) in judgments citing free speech rights but has acknowledged that the school shooting happened.
Mr Jones has brought in millions of dollars a year in revenue by hawking nutritional supplements, clothing, survival gear and other merchandise from his Infowars Store website, according to court documents.
Many of Mr Jones’ personal assets, including real estate as well as guns and other personal belongings, also are being sold as part of the bankruptcy.
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