Alex Jones speaks on the East Front of the U.S. Capitol Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington, as rioters breach the Capitol. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
A federal bankruptcy judge will allow far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones to continue operating his media company for at least two more weeks only days after Jones asked his audience to blockade his offices once families of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre asked the court to liquidate the company.
Jones and his entity Free Speech Systems LLC, the parent company to Infowars, is still on the hook for $1.5 billion in damages after losing two defamation lawsuits. Jones falsely and repeatedly declared publicly that the massacre was a hoax and that the victims were “crisis actors.” Twenty young children died as well as six teachers in the 2012 mass shooting in Connecticut.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez in Texas will let Free Speech Systems LLC, operate through June 14 when a hearing will be held to determine the next steps, if any, for liquidation.
An attorney for Jones did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.
As Law&Crime previously reported, the families asked the bankruptcy court on Sunday through an emergency motion to order Jones to begin selling off his assets. They argued that Jones’ recent public commentary about the bankruptcy case led them to believe he had no intent to pay them and further, that Jones anticipates the matter will be dismissed.
“Jones made clear that he will not ‘play along’ with others’ plans after he takes ‘control’ back of (Free Speech Systems), and even threatened to blockade the (Free Speech Systems) offices in the event its operations are threatened,” the June 2 emergency motion states.
The comment from Jones was made on an “emergency broadcast” of his podcast. Jones also hosted former Trump White House strategist Steve Bannon on the show and the men discussed the bankruptcy case and Jones’ belief that he would be locked up in days. Bannon is scheduled to appear in federal court in Washington, D.C., on Thursday where he may learn whether he will be sent to prison now that his appeal to reverse two contempt of Congress convictions has been rejected.
“They could literally lock us up in the next few days,” Jones told Bannon.
Then Jones asked him: “What is your advice to Infowars and our crew?”
Bannon suggested Jones move to a secret location and if that wouldn’t work, he said Jones should work on getting “people down there and surround the building” in Austin.
“Make them come through a chain of patriots,” Bannon said.
Jones appeared quite warm to the idea.
“That’s what I’m going to do. Our location has been somewhat secret, but I agree with you,” he said. “We need to surround the building and just make a big issue out of this.”
During that same episode, amid some crying, Jones declared: “There’s really no avenue out of this. 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. At the end of the day, we’re going to beat these people. I’m not trying to be dramatic here, but it’s been a hard fight. These people hate our children.”
The victims said these and other comments last weekend “undermine the ability of a trustee to carry out any liquidation of Jones’s estate that involves his divestiture from (Free Speech Systems), as well as creditors’ ability to exercise their state law rights to enforce their claims. Jones’s threats to undermine this Court’s orders should not be condoned.”
According to a report by ABC News, Lopez agreed that Jones’ company can continue to pay out employee wages and spend on other operational expenses through June 14. The outlet said Lopez also warned lawyers to “take the temperature down” in their filings.
Should the judge side with the families, Jones would have to liquidate most of his personal property less anything exempt from bankruptcy proceedings like his personal home or car.
An attorney for the victims’ families told ABC Jones was “manufacturing a crisis” by proclaiming his shut down was imminent.
As the outlet noted, the colorful commentary on the podcast seemed to stem from a dispute between Jones, one of the chief restructuring officers assigned to manage Free Speech Systems LLC bankruptcy proceedings, and another company, PQPR Holdings Limited.
PQPR Holdings Limited is, in fact, mostly owned by Jones. ABC noted that at a hearing in bankruptcy court on Monday, an attorney for PQPR Holdings Limited, Stephen Lemmon, expressed opposition to letting Infowars or Free Speech stay open even one moment longer because of Jones’ uncooperativeness.
Lemon told Judge Lopez, “We think that everybody is better off if this just gets shut down right now,” while Annie Catmull, a lawyer for Free Speech Systems rejected that idea wholesale.
Christopher Mattei, the attorney for victims of the mass shooting who sued Jones, cast a skeptical eye, noting to the court that PQPR right now claims that Free Speech Systems owes it millions for dietary supplements hawked on Jones’ show.
Jones reportedly has roughly $9 million in assets. That includes a lavish home in Austin worth close to $3 million. Free Speech Systems reportedly had close to $4 million in cash available at the end of April and that it earned just over $3 million that month thanks to the dietary supplements.
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