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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
William Mata

Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones files for bankruptcy protection ahead of Sandy Hook family payout

Alex Jones says he does not have enough money to make the payments

(Picture: AP)

Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones has filed for bankruptcy protection, needing to pay nearly £1.2 billion in damage payments to families whose children died in the Sandy Hook massacre.

Jones, who owns Infowars - a website of dubious theories and news - called the 2012 mass shooting a “hoax” and was ordered to pay up damages by a court.

On Friday, it was reported he filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in bankruptcy court in Houston. His filing lists one billion (£820 million) to 10 billion dollars in liabilities (£8.2 billion).

A total of 26 people were killed by a gunman at the school in Newtown, 20 of them children.

In October, a Connecticut jury awarded the families $965 million in compensatory damages (£792 million), and a judge later tacked on another $473 million (£388 million) in punitive damages.

Earlier in the year, a Texas jury awarded the parents of a child killed in the shooting 49 million dollars (£40 million) in damages.

Jones has laughed at the awards on his Infowars show, saying he has less than two million dollars (£1.6 million) to his name and will not be able to pay such high amounts.

The comments contradicted the testimony of a forensic economist at the Texas trial, who said Jones and his company Free Speech Systems have a combined net worth as high as $270 million (£221 million).

Free Speech Systems is also seeking bankruptcy protection.

In documents filed in Free Speech Systems' bankruptcy case in Texas, a budget for the company for October 29 to November 25 estimated product sales would total $2.5 million (£2 million), while operating expenses would be about $740,000 (£607,000). Jones's salary was listed at $20,000 (£16,400) every two weeks.

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