Judge halts Infowars’ sale to The Onion in shock move as Alex Jones blasts ‘bankruptcy crime disguised as an auction’ to repay Sandy Hook victims

A Texas judge hit the pause button on The Onion’s winning bid for Alex Jones’ Infowars network over questions about the bidding process and what the agent provocateur calls a “rigged, bogus auction.”

The satirical news publication said the offer was approved by the families of Sandy Hook Elementary victims who won a $1.4 billion defamation lawsuit against Jones in 2022.

But Judge Christopher M. Lopez announced during a status conference in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas that the meeting would be held to discuss whether the people running the auction had followed “a fair and complete process.”

“Personally, I don’t care who wins the auction, what matters to me is the process and transparency,” the judge said, adding that “no one should feel comfortable” about what happened. No date has been set for the hearing.

Jones has intensified his opposition to that same lawsuit since the winning bid on behalf of the satirical news site was announced Thursday.

In two videos posted later that evening, an irate Jones claimed the sale is not yet official.

‘[My lawyers] had a total consensus: they’ve never seen anything like it. “This was a private, secret sale…actually illegal, this is a prima facie bankruptcy crime disguised as an auction that wasn’t an auction.”

“People didn’t even pay real money, they paid some weird FIAT thing that the judge didn’t agree to, and then they got the corporate media to say that The Onion had bought Infowars.”

Judge Christopher M. Lopez announced during a status conference in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas that the meeting would be held to discuss whether the people running the auction had followed “due process and due process.”

He then claims that the judge told the trustee that he did not give the trustee the authority to do so and that it ‘was not an auction’.

Jones says those behind The Onion “did nothing” and called it “unprecedented,” blaming his frequent targeting on the “Deep State.”

‘It’s crazy. No one sees how the federal judge, who is notoriously straight-laced, cannot put a stop to this bogus sale, essentially saying that this did not happen and that at the very least there will be a new, open, public auction.”

He then made a promise: “Anyone who thinks Infowars has closed down is in for a rude awakening.”

Two hours later, he gave another update on the process from the Infowars studios.

“The headlines you see everywhere that The Onion bought Infowars today are not true.”

He expressed his anger that not only did the trustee not accept the highest bid, but also that they would not reveal who won and also that they had not revealed that the credit could be used in the auction.

“They bought my company at a rigged, fake auction that didn’t even happen, with my money that doesn’t exist,” he alleged.

In two videos posted later that evening, an irate Jones claimed the sale is not yet official

In this Dec. 14, 2012, file photo, parents leave a staging area after being reunited with their children following a shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown

He claimed that there are “good guys” trying to buy Infowars – First United American Companies LLC which operates ShopAlexJones.com – and that their lawyers have “never” seen anything like this.

Jones then accused the auction winners of “hijacking” his website and shutting down his TV and radio stations.

Ultimately, he went on a rampage against the Sandy Hook families, saying he had “barely ever spoken to them” and that they had “collected money from me” and “defaulted me” through a show trial produced by HBO.

“These people jumped the shark and that is why there was a referendum against the left and the rule of law, why Trump was elected in a landslide despite all the fraud.”

He also complained that “outside of some legal sites” no one was covering this aspect of the story.

“If the judge upholds this, it will be just another dark day for people’s rights.”

Judge Lopez did indeed appear to have legitimate concerns about the conduct of the auction.

“No one should feel comfortable with the results of the auction,” Lopez said Bloomberg.

Ben Collins, the CEO of The Onion’s parent company Global Tetrahedron, said it will mock “weird internet personalities” like Jones who spread conspiracy theories.

Trustee Christopher Murray conceded that the process seemed unorthodox, but that it was consistent with what the victims’ families wanted.

“I haven’t seen this in any other case before, and we did a lot of research, but we never found it,” he said.

“But I’ve always thought my goal was to maximize the recovery of unsecured creditors, and under one offer they are clearly better than under another.”

The auction stemmed from Jones’ personal bankruptcy case, which he filed in late 2022 after the families won lawsuits in Connecticut and Texas over his claim that the school shooting that killed 20 children and six adults was a hoax.

Infowars will be relaunched in January as a new parody of itself under the umbrella of The Onion, as reported by The New York Times.

Ben Collins, the CEO of The Onion’s parent company Global Tetrahedron, said it will mock “weird internet personalities” like Jones who spread conspiracy theories.

The Onion would not disclose how much it paid for Infowars. The purchase includes the Infowars studio and a nutritional supplement company.

“The dissolution of Alex Jones’ assets and the death of Infowars is the justice we have long waited and fought for,” Robbie Parker, whose daughter Emilie was killed in the 2012 Connecticut shooting, said in a statement. statement from his lawyers.

The conspiracy theorist shared on his show Monday that depending on who buys the company, Infowars may have to close

Bill Sherlach, husband of Mary, one of the Sandy Hook School shooting victims, speaks after jurors returned a $965 million dollar verdict against Alex Jones in 2022

Sealed bids for the private auction opened on Wednesday. Both supporters and opponents of Jones had expressed interest in buying Infowars. The other bidders have not been announced.

The Onion, a satirical site that manages to convince people to believe the absurd, bills itself as “the world’s premier news publication, providing critically acclaimed, universally respected coverage of current national, international and local news events” and says 4.3 trillion to have daily readers.

Jones has said on his show that if his opponents bought Infowars, he would move his daily broadcasts and product sales to a new studio, websites and social media accounts he has already set up. He also said that if his supporters won the bid, he could remain on the Infowars platforms.

Relatives of many of the 20 children and six educators killed in the shooting. Jones and company for defamation and emotional distress for repeatedly saying on his show that the Newtown, Connecticut, shooting was a hoax staged by crisis actors to encourage more gun control.

Parents and children of many of the victims testified that they were traumatized by Jones’ conspiracies and the threats of his followers.

The lawsuits were filed in Connecticut and Texas. Attorneys for the families in the Connecticut lawsuit said they worked with The Onion to acquire Infowars.