Briana Sanchez/Austin American-Statesman/AP, Pool
The parent company of Infowars, Alex Jones’ far-right conspiracy website, has filed for bankruptcy, Jones’ attorney said yesterday. The announcement comes amid two concurrent defamation lawsuits in which families of Sandy Hook school shooting victims are seeking damages from Jones, who repeatedly peddled the lie that the massacre was a “giant hoax” orchestrated by “crisis actors.” (He has since acknowledged that Sandy Hook actually happened, attributing his false claims to a “form of psychosis.”)
Attorneys representing the families suing Jones told the Washington Post that they believed the bankruptcy declaration was a ploy for Jones to delay going to trial and avoid financial liability. (Jones’ lawyer has claimed the filing won’t stop the case from proceeding as planned.) Jones is currently embroiled in legal battles in Texas and Connecticut to determine how much he owes victims’ families.
This isn’t the first time one of Jones’ businesses has filed for bankruptcy in recent months. In April, Infowars and two of Jones’ other companies filed for bankruptcy, delaying the start of the Texas trial. At the time, my colleague Noah Kim described the extent of Jones’ legal woes:
In September 2021, Jones lost two defamation lawsuits in Texas after a judge ruled that he had engaged in “persistent discovery abuses” by failing to turn over important documents related to the case, noting that “an escalating series of judicial admonishments, monetary penalties, and non-dispositive sanctions have all been ineffective at deterring the abuse.” In November, Jones lost an additional lawsuit in Connecticut for failing to turn over documents.
Throughout the proceedings, Jones has attempted to paint himself as a victim, claiming that his net worth is negative $20 million and that he couldn’t attend depositions because of the cardiovascular effects of a Covid infection. I guess his colloidal silver coronavirus cure didn’t work, after all.
At this point, just about everyone, from families to judges, is fed up with Jones. “The world is currently watching the final chapter of Mr. Jones’ pathetic exit from the American stage,” an attorney for the Texas families told the Post in a statement, “and true to form, he will try to grab some cash on his way out.”
