The right-wing to far-right US conspiracy theorist Alex Jones must liquidate personal assets in the face of claims for damages amounting to billions. However, his company will not be touched for the time being. This was decided by a Texas bankruptcy court on Friday, as US media unanimously reported.
The founder of the online portal Infowars from the orbit of the radical right around former President Donald Trump filed for bankruptcy in 2022. Previously, he had claimed for years that the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in the state of Connecticut had been staged by actors. In December 2012, a 20-year-old shot and killed 20 schoolchildren and six teachers there.
Several relatives sued Jones for his claims in various proceedings and won – he was ordered to pay a total of around 1.5 billion US dollars (around 1.4 billion euros) in damages. The 50-year-old earns his money mainly by selling dubious nutritional supplements on his online portal, through which he spreads various conspiracy theories and engages in political opinion-making. With Friday’s verdict, he can now continue to be active there.
Dilemma in collecting the money
There is disagreement among the Sandy Hook victims’ relatives on this issue: some are primarily concerned with silencing Jones and shutting down the website. They would therefore be happy with a lower amount of compensation. Others want to punish Jones financially and demand the entire amount.
This has created a dilemma: In order to raise the money, Jones must first earn it. Whether and when his relatives will be paid out is uncertain anyway, as he has appealed the case. WashingtonPost also reported that Jones transferred millions of dollars to other companies owned by family and friends before the trials.
Just this week, the tragedy of Sandy Hook was once again very present in the USA. On Wednesday, dozens of students who survived the massacre twelve years ago and some of whom are still struggling with severe trauma today took part in their year’s graduation ceremony.