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Recently, a Texas bankruptcy judge put the brakes on The Onion’s plans to purchase Infowars, the controversial far-right site spearheaded by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. Despite The Onion’s victory in a bankruptcy auction last November, the judge determined after a two-day hearing that the auction hadn’t attracted the most competitive bids to satisfy creditor obligations.
Ben Collins, The Onion’s CEO, expressed his disappointment on social media after the court ruling. He stated that while the decision was frustrating, The Onion remains eager to forge ahead and pursue Infowars in the coming weeks. Collins lamented that the process is now back to square one, leaving bidders without a clear path forward.
The background of this case intertwines with the horrific events of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Infowars went on the auction block to address settlements owed to the families of the massacre victims. Jones owes these families nearly $1.5 billion due to defamation lawsuits after his baseless claims that the tragedy was a hoax. His massive debt led Jones to file for bankruptcy in 2022, following successful legal actions taken by the families against him.
Interestingly, some of the families from Connecticut affected by the Sandy Hook shooting backed The Onion’s bid. They had even agreed to reduce part of their settlement share to elevate the attractiveness of The Onion’s offer. However, the Texas judge wasn’t swayed by this financial maneuver.
The proposed acquisition by The Onion included getting hold of Free Speech Systems, Infowars’ parent company, along with its website, social media presence, production setup in Austin, Texas, and other assets. Yet, the judge rejected this bid as well as a rival offer from First United American Companies, a group with ties to Jones. The judge has asked the bankruptcy trustee to go back to the drawing board and negotiate further with creditors to find a suitable resolution.
Deeming The Onion’s sale bid as a well-intentioned misstep, the judge criticized the process for not ensuring that competitive tension existed till the end between The Onion and the competing offer connected to Jones.
In response, Jones celebrated the ruling, claiming it upheld the law, accusing opposing forces of attempting to destroy him and freedom of speech. He suggested the auction process might have been marred by criminal activities like bid rigging and price fixing, though these claims were dismissed by the judge.
Chris Mattei, a lawyer representing the Connecticut families, expressed their disappointment with the outcome, yet he reassured that the ruling doesn’t alter the fact that Jones is still obligated to start paying his debts to these families, continuing as long as that may take.
