Far-right website Infowars and two other companies owned by Alex Jones have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after facing several defamation lawsuits over Jones’ claim that the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was a hoax.
The filings were made in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. Chapter 11 bankruptcy procedures pause pending civil litigation while letting a business prepare for a turnaround plan.
In the court filings, Infowars said it had estimated assets of $50,000 or less, and estimated liabilities of $1million to $10million. Infowars said it had estimated assets of $50,000 or less, and estimated liabilities of $1million to $10million.
Those listed as being owed money include relatives of some of the 20 children and six educators during the 2012 mass shooting at a suburban Connecticut elementary school.
The companies that filed for bankruptcy include Infowars, IWHealth aka Infowars Health, and Prison Planet TV, reported.
A judge also ruled that Jones will be given back the $75,000 in fines he paid after
Jones paid a $25,000 daily fine for April 1 and another $50,000 for April 4. He later attended a deposition in Bridgeport on April 5 and 6.
The families of Sandy Hook victims have sued Jones after being subjected to harassment and death threats from his followers due to his conspiracy theory that the shooting never happened. He has since come out to say that the shooting did happen.
Twenty first-graders and six educators were in the 2012 massacre. The gunman, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, his mother in their Newtown home before the massacre, and then himself at the school as police arrived.
The families have already won defamation lawsuits against the right-wing radio host. A trial on how much he should pay the families is set for August.
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