A bankruptcy judge in Texas decided against liquidating Alex Jones' crown jewels—Infowars and its merch business—while ordering his other assets to the auction block to pay off the Sandy Hook parents he defamed and owes more than a billion dollars to.
Judge Chris Lopez said the Infowars bankruptcy process had dragged on and that it needed to stop "incurring costs" and let the families of Sandy Hook victims try to claim what they are owed through state courts. The families have not received payment of the approximately $1.5 billion in damages against Jones that they have won after he lied about the 2012 school massacre.
CNN reports it as a victory for Jones: Infowars is the only thing he owns that's worth anything and now he still has it.
Jones' attorney, Vickie Driver, applauded the decision, saying the judge was fair in his review of the unique aspects of the case.
Some of the families preferred he kept it, CNN reports, as it's worth more as a going concern that can continuously pay them rather than as a name to sell to some rich weirdo: "Westbrook said if Jones continues at Infowars, it could maximize the amount of money the victims families could draw from it."
Jay Westbrook, a University of Texas bankruptcy law professor, said that Infowars could still be sold by the court-appointed trustee to pay some of the damages owed to the families, but it would likely not fetch a high price.
"Jones owns [Free Speech Systems] and thus his bankruptcy trustee could sell it, but without his active promotion it may be of little value, except for its inventory of products he has been selling," Westbrook said.
The Sandy Hook families don't owe anyone anything, and if you object to them profiting from what Jones sells that's a you problem.
