Alex Jones files to liquidate assets after Sandy Hook families reject $55 million settlement

Infowars owner and host Alex Jones on Thursday asked that a judge convert his bankruptcy into Chapter 7 liquidation. This is after the families of the Sandy Hook shooting victims rejected a settlement of $55 million over 10 years that would have seen Jones able to retain control of his assets and earn income to pay off the debt.

Jones’ lead bankruptcy attorney Vickie Driver said in court, "With the anticipated conversion or dismissal of the Free Speech Systems case, he does not believe his own estate would continue to benefit by remaining in Chapter 11," according to the Daily Mail.

"Thus, drawing out the Chapter 11 process would result in additional administrative expense with little benefit to [Jones’] estate," she added. "Accordingly, he submits that this Chapter 11 case should be converted to Chapter 7."

While Chapter 11 protections could have led to a larger payment to the families of the victims, they feared it would allow Jones to continue broadcasting to his fans. They filed a motion to liquidate Jones’ assets and a judge is expected to rule on the case on June 14.

A court analysis discovered that Jones’ total assets amount to no more than $10 million, and that a Chapter 7 liquidation would likely leave the families with less than $4 million between them after legal bills are paid.

Jones’ attorney told the court that the Chapter 11 proceedings left them with "no reasonable prospect of a successful reorganization."

Jones’ media company Infowars, which operates under Free Speech Systems LLC, filed for bankruptcy protection in 2022 after he was ordered to pay almost $1.5 billion to the families of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. The victim’s families had sued Jones for defamation after he had claimed the massacre that left 26 people dead was a hoax. Jones later recanted the claim and apologized for what he'd said. 

The victims’ families filed an emergency motion on Sunday in the Southern District of Texas to ask the court to change the bankruptcy reorganization into a liquidation. The motion came after Jones held a broadcast on Saturday, saying that authorities were planning on shutting down Infowars.

During the Saturday livestream, Jones claimed that authorities were planning on shutting it down and told his fans to "surround the building and just make a big issue of this and expose this."