Relatives of the Sandy Hook elementary school victims who won more than $1.5bn against the far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones over his false claim that the 2012 mass shooting was a hoax to force Americans to accept gun control are demanding his businesses be liquidated.
In a letter to a bankruptcy court judge on Sunday, relatives of those killed in the shooting, which left 20 children and six educators dead, requested the rejection of Jones’s petition to financially reorganize his company, which includes Infowars.
The request is the subject of a hearing scheduled in Houston on Monday.
Lawyers for the families said Jones’s Free Speech Systems company has “no prospect” of getting a reorganization plan approved and has “failed to demonstrate any hope of beginning to satisfy” the judgment against it.
If granted, the families may be less likely to have the ability to collect on the judgment – but Jones would be forced to sell most of what he owns, including his company and its assets, though he could keep his home and other personal belongings, according to the Associated Press.
In a tearful, four-hour “emergency broadcast” over the weekend, Jones said there was a conspiracy against him, and that he expected Infowars to be shut down in the next month or two.
“There’s really no avenue out of this,” Jones said. “I’m kind of in the bunker here. And don’t worry. I’ll come back. The enemy can’t help but do this attack.”
A day earlier, Jones – who built up a profitable business on the back of his web-based show selling products such as Super Male Vitality supplements, Lung Cleanse Plus Spray and Prostagard pills, sounded more combative.
“At the end of the day, we’re going to beat these people,” he said. “I’m not trying to be dramatic here, but it’s been a hard fight. These people hate our children.”
Jones and his company filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after victims’ families won lawsuits in Texas and Connecticut for defamation and emotional distress over his claims that the mass shooting was fake and staged in order to get tougher gun restrictions passed.
Within hours of the mass shooting, perpetrated by 20-year-old Adam Lanza, Jones was on air describing the killings as a “false flag” operation, the grieving families as crisis actors, and their children as either imaginary or still alive. Some parents said they were recognized in the street and told to their faces that their grief was a lie. Some testified at trial that they had been harassed and threatened by Jones’s followers.
In financial statements to the court, Jones said he was worth about $9m in assets, including his $2.6m Texas home near Austin. He estimated his living expenses at $69,000 for April, including about $16,500 for costs associated with his home.
In the same month, Free Speech Systems – Infowars’ parent company, which employs 44 people – said it made $3.2m in April from selling dietary supplements, clothing and other items. The company said it ran $1.9m in expenses.
Free Speech Systems has offered to pay the judgment at $7m to $10m annually. But the families countered with a proposal that Jones liquidate his assets, or pay them at least $8.5m annually for 10 years – plus 50% of any income over $9m.
