Infowars sale may be close as feuding Sandy Hook families reach deal to split bankrupt Alex Jones’ assets

The families who sued Alex Jones over his false claims about the Sandy Hook massacre have settled their dispute over how to divide the bankrupt conspiracy theorist’s assets, clearing the way for the sale of Jones’ Infowars platform, lawyers said in a hearing. court on Monday.

Joshua Wolfshohl, an attorney for the bankruptcy trustee charged with selling Jones’ assets, told U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez in Houston that the deal would help get the bankruptcy back “on track” and pave the way for a Infowars new auction.

Courts in Connecticut and Texas, where some of the families filed their lawsuits, have ruled that Jones defamed the families by making repeated false claims about the 2012 school shooting that killed 20 students and six staff members in Newton. , Conn., were staged as part of a government plot to disarm Americans.

But the families were at odds over how to go after Jones’ assets after he filed for bankruptcy in 2022, with the Texas-based families preferring to get more money from Jones, while the Connecticut-based families prioritized shutting down Jones’ Infowars company.

The dispute helped derail an earlier auction of Jones’ Infowars company, after the court-appointed bankruptcy trustee decided to sell Infowars to the parody news site Onion for $1.75 million with support from Connecticut families.

Lopez, who is overseeing the bankruptcy, later blocked that sale, saying the trustee left “money on the table” by quickly accepting the Onion’s offer without conducting a more robust auction.

Under the new settlement between the Sandy Hook families, the Texas families will be paid $4 million, with $1 million to be paid within seven days of court approval, according to court documents. After that, Texas families will receive 25% of future payments made to Sandy Hook families, with Connecticut families receiving 75%.

The Texas families also agreed to limit their participation in the rest of Jones’ bankruptcy case and to support the Connecticut families when necessary.

Avi Moshenberg, an attorney for the Texas families, said at a court hearing Monday in Houston, Texas, that the Texas and Connecticut families are now “100% aligned.”

“The settlement with Texas families is a historic event and it puts families back on the same page,” said Kyle Kimpler, an attorney for Connecticut families.

The earlier division of the families reflected the relative size of the judgments awarded to them, which gave the Connecticut families much more leverage over the Jones bankruptcy.

Courts in Connecticut awarded $1.3 billion to Connecticut families, by far the largest claim in Jones’ bankruptcy. Courts in Texas, meanwhile, awarded $50 million to two Texas parents, while several other Texas plaintiffs were still awaiting judgments when Jones’ bankruptcy halted their lawsuits.

An attorney for Jones said he would discuss the families’ settlement with Jones. Lopez has scheduled a hearing for next week to consider approving the settlement.

After the previous sale to Onion was blocked in court, the bankruptcy trustee received a new offer from First United American Companies — a company related to one of Jones’ supplement businesses — for more than double the $3.75 million previous company. offer.

The trustee expects to receive a new bid from Onion as well, and it will evaluate both bids before seeking court approval for a new auction, Wolfshohl said.