A judge rejected calls to shut down Alex Jones’ Infowars amid an ongoing bankruptcy dispute with relatives of Sandy Hook victims, days after the outspoken conspiracy theorist claimed the feds were out to trap him in a hysterical rant.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez issued the ruling in Houston on Monday, after lawyers for the families filed an emergency motion the day before.
The motion was aimed at stopping a plan that would allow Jones to reorganize his business as they seek to cash in on the $1.5 billion lawsuit verdicts against him.
Both Jones and his company, Free Speech Systems, filed for bankruptcy after losing two lawsuits accumulating the sum.
It was filed by relatives of victims of the 2012 shooting, which Jones said was staged. They sued for defamation and emotional distress and were successful.
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A judge has rejected calls to shut down Alex Jones’ Infowars, amid an ongoing bankruptcy dispute with relatives of Sandy Hook victims.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez issued the ruling in Houston on Monday, after lawyers for the families filed an emergency motion the day before.
On Saturday, the fringe conservative claimed he had to sleep in his show’s Dallas studio the night before to avoid the feds padlocking it.
On Monday, López apparently put those fears to rest, at least temporarily.
He allowed Jones to continue trading for the next two weeks while it is decided whether his assets should be liquidated.
He will address the motion on June 14, when a decision will be made on whether the assets of Jones and his company will be seized.
Meanwhile, Lopez ruled that the Austin-based company can continue paying employee salaries and operate as usual.
During Monday’s proceedings, he asked lawyers for both sides to “turn down the heat,” citing vitriol in his arguments.
Christopher Mattei, an attorney for the Sandy Hook families, claimed Jones was “manufacturing a crisis,” pointing to a so-called “emergency broadcast” seen on his network the day before.
In it, Jones was visibly upset when he said he was fighting unspecified allegations apparently stemming from his settled bankruptcy cases.
He also mentioned a trove of “secret federal files” that he said are watching him, and a “deep state effort to shut down” Jones’ website.
The 50-year-old conspiracy theorist wept openly Saturday on InfoWars, making an unfounded accusation in the process.
The deep state is an alleged secret network of usually unelected government officials and sometimes private entities that operate outside the confines of the law to influence and influence government policy.
Meanwhile, Infowars has long faced criticism for false stories, and its creator was recently reinstated to X over controversial comments.
He is best known for saying the The 2012 Sandy Hook massacre that killed 26 people was organizeda statement that is decidedly false.
Additionally, he characterized the four-hour-long broadcast as one made in an emergency: “to explain how the Deep State attempted to shut down” his website.
If part of Lopez’s ruling, the liquidation could mean Jones would have to sell most of what he owns, including his company and its assets, but would still be able to keep his home and other personal belongings exempt from that form of bankruptcy.
As a result, Christopher Mattei, an attorney for the Sandy Hook families, claimed Monday that Jones was “manufacturing a crisis” by wrongly dismissing the idea that his network would be shut down imminently.
He and other representatives of the family members have been unable to reach an agreement with Jones’ attorneys in recent months because the proceeds would go to his creditors, including the Sandy Hook families.
Jones’ attorney recently said in court that the cases appear to be headed toward settlement or may be withdrawn, meaning Jones would be back in the same position he was in after receiving the $1.5 billion judgment.
The families of many, but not all, Sandy Hook victims sued Jones and won both lawsuits in Connecticut and Texas. Pictured is Bill Sherlach, husband of Mary, one of the victims of the Sandy Hook school shooting.
Family members said they were traumatized by Jones’ comments and the actions of his followers.
They testified at trials about being harassed and threatened by Jones believers, some of whom confronted the grieving families in person saying the shooting never happened and their children never existed.
Infowars’ parent company, Free Speech System, employs 44 people and had nearly $4 million in cash on hand at the end of April. The business earned nearly $3.2 million that month, a sum secured through the sale of dietary supplements, clothing and other items that Jones promotes on his show.
Also that month, the company recorded expenses of $1.9 million.
On Saturday, Jones, despite sobbing at one point, was defiant, saying, “At the end of the day, we’re going to beat these people.”
‘I’m not trying to be dramatic here, but it’s been a tough fight. These people hate our children.’
Fifteen minutes into the final hour of X’s broadcast, he stated, “I love this team,” before growing visibly and cradling his face in his hands.
Meanwhile, Jones has yet to disburse any of the more than $1 billion to any of the victims of the mass shooting, which occurred on December 14, 2012 in Newtown, Connecticut. Twenty-five of the 26 victims appear in the photo.
“I’m very angry,” he said in the viral fragment, and at that moment he began to sob.
Referencing earlier points in the broadcast where he exaggerated his depression with crocodile tears, he added, “I’m trying to cry like it’s a lie, but I’m sick of these people,” his eyes filling with tears.
“All we’re trying to do is save America, and we’re getting screwed over and over and over again.
“And it’s so sick… it’s sick, it’s sick,” he adds, visibly moved.
“I want to leave, because this will be over, friends.”
The Texan goes on to insist that “I’ll come back bigger than ever,” before adding, “But my baby, I’m watching him get raped.”
