Jones applied for Chapter 11 protection in Texas. He told his listeners Monday that he was “totally maxed” financially. Jones urged his audience members to donate money or purchase products from his Infowars website.
Sandy Hook families’ attorneys have charged Jones with hiding millions of dollars in assets. Juries will decide how much Jones should be paid in damages later in the year.
Here are some things to keep in mind:
WHAT IS ALEX JONES’ CLAIM TO?
Infowars stated to the bankruptcy court that it had estimated assets at $50,000 and liabilities at $1 million to $10,000,000. The filing lists relatives of six of the victims of the Connecticut school massacre of 2012, which resulted in the deaths of 20 children and six teachers.
Prison Planet TV, and IW Health were two other companies that had ties to Jones.
Jones addressed the bankruptcy on his show in recent days, although an InfoWars attorney did not respond to messages. He was removed from all major social media platforms due to hate speech and abusive behaviour.
Jones stated that “we have less than $3million cash and we need it” to continue operating.
WHAT DO JONES FEEL?
Next week, juror selection was scheduled to begin in Austin for a trial that will determine how much Jones should compensate the Sandy Hook families. Similar trials are expected in Connecticut this year.
Plaintiffs in these cases claim they were harassed and threatened with death by Jones’ followers. Jones promoted the hoax conspiracy of crisis actors faking the shooting to try to restrict firearms and take away guns.
Jones later admitted that the shooting took place.
Christopher Mattei, representing the families in the Connecticut lawsuit against Jones, said that Alex Jones is only delaying the inevitable. He will face a public trial for lying about his profit-driven campaign against Sandy Hook families.
Neil Heslin, the father of Jesse Lewis (6-year-old) who was killed in the Newtown school shooting, stated that he didn’t know how Jones’ bankruptcy would impact his Texas defamation suit against him.
Heslin stated, “It’s what it is.” “We’ll watch and see what happens.” He has tried everything to avoid all.”
WHAT ARE JONES’ FINSANCES?
In a separate suit , Jones was accused of hiding millions in assets. Jones’ attorney called the allegation “ridiculous”.
Jones was last month fined $75,000 for not appearing for a Deposition in an Defamation Case. However, a judge ordered that the money be returned because Jones finally showed up.
According to bankruptcy court filings, Jones is alleged to have paid $10 million in legal fees. According to court records, Jones claimed that he had a negative net value of $20 million. However, attorneys representing Sandy Hook families claim that the financial picture is different.
Court records show that Jones Infowars, which sells survival gear and nutritional supplements, earned more than $165million between 2015 and 2018.
Sid Scheinberg, a Dallas bankruptcy attorney at Godwin Bowman, said that Jones will be subject to greater scrutiny under bankruptcy courts than under state courts.
HOW WILL THIS AFFECT THE SANDY HOK CASES
The filing of Chapter 11 places civil litigation on hold while the company reorganizes its finances.
This isn’t the first bankruptcy filing to affect a Sandy Hook family lawsuit. Remington, which made the AR-15-style rifle used to attack the school, filed twice for bankruptcy. Remington’s assets were sold to other companies in the second case, filed in 2020.
In Connecticut, Remington sought damages for its marketing of rifles and the 2020 bankruptcy delayed proceedings by one year. The families of the nine school shooting victims announced that had agreed to settle the case at $73 million.