Did The Onion Bite Off More Than it Can Chew With Infowars?
The Alex Jones-Infowars saga continues in a contentious series of legal battles, now with a new player: The Onion.
To rewind and refresh: Alex Jones was the founder of Infowars. He has been infamous in the past few years for spreading false conspiracy theories about the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Of course, he faced pretty big legal consequences for this in the form of multiple defamation lawsuits brought by the victims' families.
In 2022, Jones was found liable for claiming the massacre was a hoax. Courts in Texas and Connecticut ordered Jones to pay nearly $1.5 billion in damages to the families. Since Jones wasn’t a multi-billionaire, these verdicts had significant financial implications for him. In their wake, he filed for bankruptcy protection, further complicating his financial and legal situation.
This past June, a federal bankruptcy judge in Texas ordered Jones to liquidate his personal assets under Chapter 7 bankruptcy. This decision was made to address the steep damages he owed to the families of Sandy Hook victims. While Jones lost ownership of Infowars, his company Free Speech Systems (FSS) was allowed to continue operations, albeit under the oversight of a trustee.
Onion Bids Big
Last week, the publication The Onion announced its winning bid to acquire Infowars.
The Onion is one of the country's most widely recognized makers of satirical content, known for its humorous take on current events and social issues. Its parody articles mimic the style and format of traditional news outlets, often featuring exaggerated or fictionalized stories to highlight the absurdity of real-world happenings.
Free Speech Systems is the parent company of Infowars, so it was involved in the bankruptcy proceedings. Free Speech Systems was put up for sale as part of these proceedings, and its ownership became a subject of legal disputes and auctions. The bankruptcy auction of Free Speech Systems concluded with Global Tetrahedron, The Onion's parent company, emerging as the winning bidder.
Unsurprisingly, The Onion planned to transform Infowars into a satirical platform, with gun-control group Everytown for Gun Safety as an exclusive advertiser. The Sandy Hook families supported the purchase of Infowars by The Oniond even included a promise from the Connecticut families to forgo some proceeds to benefit Texas plaintiffs.
The sale, however, required court approval, and a hearing was scheduled to review the process.
A Contested Auction
Not everyone was so keen on The Onion’s acquisition. First United American Companies, which is associated with Jones and his online nutritional supplements store, was the runner-up bidder. First United contested the auction, alleging illegal changes and collusion. Its attorney, Walter Cicack, claimed it was based on "Monopoly money."
Christopher Murray was the Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustee involved in the proceedings. As a trustee, his role is to oversee the liquidation process and ensure that the sale of assets maximizes value for the creditors. Murray was responsible for managing the auction process and evaluating bids, ultimately selecting the bid from Global Tetrahedron as the winning offer.
Murray defended the auction process, asserting that The Onion's bid maximized value for creditors. Former federal bankruptcy judge Bruce Markell suggested the court would likely defer to the trustee's judgment. "That's what trustees are being paid for," he said. "I don't think the trustee did anything that adversely affected the estate. If [the trustee's] numbers are right, creditors would do better under The Onion bid than the one from FUAC."
Despite Murray's defense of the process, First United filed an emergency motion to disqualify The Onion's bid, alleging collusion with the Sandy Hook families. Jones escalated his efforts to retain control of Infowars by filing a lawsuit against The Onion and the Sandy Hook families. He argued that their bid violated auction rules and was a "flagrantly non-compliant Frankenstein bid." Jones sought to have First United’s $3.5 million cash bid recognized as the winner.
What to Expect
The Sandy Hook families remain determined to hold Jones accountable, while The Onion still plans to relaunch Infowars as a satirical platform. Meanwhile, Jones continues to rally his supporters, urging them to purchase products from a new online store, as the sale of Infowars remains pending court approval. It seems that for now, the Info-war is far from over.
Related Resources:
- Defamation, Libel and Slander (FindLaw's Learn About the Law)
- Is Alex Jones Legally Done For? Part 1 (FindLaw's Courtside)
- Is Alex Jones Legally Done For? Part 1 (FindLaw's Courtside)
