Written by Dietrich Knuth
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Families of Sandy Hook massacre victims declared victory in Alex Jones' bankruptcy case on Friday, accepting the conspiracy theorist's proposal to sell his assets, including InfoWars, to pay part of their legal judgments over his lies about the events of 2012. Shooting In an American school.
Jones, who filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States 17 months ago, has abandoned his attempt to reach a bankruptcy agreement that would reduce the $1.5 billion he owes to relatives of 20 students and six employees killed in the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School. (in Newtown, Connecticut).
Instead, Jones decided this week to proceed with a court-supervised liquidation of his assets.
Chris Mattei, an attorney for the Sandy Hook families, said Friday that Jones' pivot to the Chapter 7 liquidation was a moment of “true accountability” for his repeated lies, pushing the broadcaster “to the brink of justice.”
“Alex Jones hurt a lot of people,” Mattei said. “Connecticut families have fought for years to hold him accountable at all costs and at great personal risk.”
Courts in Texas and Connecticut ordered Jones to pay $1.5 billion to Sandy Hook families after Jones claimed for years that the school killings were staged with actors as part of a government conspiracy to seize Americans' guns. Jones has since admitted that the shooting occurred.
Bankruptcy can be used to expunge debts and judgments, but the judge overseeing Jones' case ruled in October that most defamation judgments could not be legally discharged because they resulted from “intentional and malicious injury” caused by Jones. Jones' decision to pursue Chapter 7 liquidation does not change this ruling.
Jones had asked the Sandy Hook families to vote in favor of the bankruptcy settlement that would have paid them $55 million, but they unanimously rejected the deal and offered their own proposal to sell his assets.
The families said in a lawsuit on Friday that they would back away from their plan and allow Jones to convert his case to direct liquidation.
Jones said the defamation judgments are far greater than the total value of his assets.
While the liquidation would only result in a small portion of the money he owed the families, they objected to his proposal because it would have kept him in control of both InfoWars and his fortune for many years, while capping the total amount he would pay for the defamation claims.
A court-supervised liquidation will allow the families to benefit from immediate asset sales, while preserving their claim to the Jones assets in the event of future wealth accumulation.
Jones said on his InfoWars website, Tuesday, on “The Alex Jones Show” that he expects to lose everything except his bankrupt house, but said he will find a way to continue broadcasting and will work “for free” rather than be “silenced” by the legal rulings.
Lawyers for the Jones family and Sandy Hook did not immediately respond to questions about how Jones will address outstanding legal debts after selling his assets in bankruptcy.
US Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez in Houston, Texas, will consider Jones' request to have his case transferred to Chapter 7 liquidation at a court hearing on June 14.
