Bankruptcy Judge Orders Alex Jones: A federal bankruptcy judge has made a significant ruling that affects Infowars host Alex Jones. The judge declared that bankruptcy proceedings won’t shield Jones from paying over $1.1 billion in damages to the families of Sandy Hook shooting victims, who had previously won a civil defamation case against him in Connecticut.
The families filed a motion in May to compel Jones to pay the trial damages and eliminate the possibility of a forced settlement during Chapter 11 proceedings. The concern was that, if forced into a settlement through bankruptcy, Jones could have liquidated his broadcast company and paid substantially lower damages to the families. This would have cleared the way for him to start a new company free from claims.
Jones filed for personal bankruptcy in December after being ordered to pay nearly $1.5 billion in the Connecticut case. The lawsuit centered on his false claims about the tragic December 2012 shooting at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, which left 26 people dead, including 20 children. Jones and other InfoWars figures had called the tragedy a hoax and accused the victims’ families of being crisis actors.
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US Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez in Texas ruled in favor of the families who had won their trial in Connecticut. He did not shield Jones from paying more than $4.4 million in compensatory and exemplary damages to Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, parents of six-year-old victim Jesse Lewis, who had won their civil jury trial against Jones and his company last summer.
The judge stated that another trial must determine the amount of damages Jones should pay for intentional infliction of emotional distress claims, as the state court record was unclear about the jury’s decision regarding Jones’ “willful and malicious injury” to Heslin and Lewis.
This ruling solely addresses Alex Jones’ bankruptcy proceedings and not those of his company, which were not filed under traditional Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Jones has ongoing appeals in state court for both trial verdicts against him, which could potentially change the debts he is ordered to pay the families in Connecticut and Texas.
It’s worth noting that reached out to attorneys for the families and Jones for comment. The decision is a significant legal development in the ongoing saga surrounding Jones and the Sandy Hook families.