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| Alex Jones |
Texas Judge Maya Guerra Gamble ordered the liquidation of Infowars, the media platform owned by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, to help pay nearly $1.5 billion owed to Sandy Hook families.
The families won defamation and emotional distress lawsuits in 2022 against Jones and Infowars’ parent company, Free Speech Systems, in Connecticut ($1.4 billion) and Texas ($49 million) after Jones falsely claimed the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting, which killed 20 children and six educators, was a hoax.
Victims’ relatives faced harassment from Jones’ supporters due to these claims.
The judge appointed a receiver, Gregory Milligan, to take over and sell Infowars’ assets, including production equipment and intellectual property, with proceeds going to the families. The order allows the receiver to change locks at Infowars’ facilities and authorizes law enforcement to assist, potentially shutting Jones out of his Austin studio soon.
This ruling follows a failed November 2024 auction where The Onion was named the winning bidder to buy Infowars, a deal rejected by federal bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez for lack of transparency. Jones, who filed for bankruptcy in 2022, claims the state court order is invalid due to ongoing federal bankruptcy proceedings and vows to continue broadcasting from an alternate studio.
A state court hearing is set for September 16, 2025, which may determine Infowars’ immediate future. Jones, who acknowledged in 2022 that the Sandy Hook shooting was “100% real,” continues to appeal the judgments, citing free speech concerns.