Bankruptcy Court To Sell Off "Infowars" Assets

 

The hateful, right-wing conspiracy mongering media outlet "Infowars" will be sold off to help satisfy a $1.5 billion settlement for repeatedly scurrilous lies about the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012. CNN has the details:

"Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ Infowars media empire will be shut down and sold off, a bankruptcy court-appointed trustee said in an emergency court filing Sunday, signaling the end of the notorious far-right outlet that Jones has used to spread dangerous misinformation and lies.

Earlier this month, a bankruptcy judge ruled that Jones’ personal assets would be liquidated to help pay off the nearly $1.5 billion he owes the families of victims of the Sandy Hook massacre. But at that time, the judge ruled Jones’ media company Free Speech Systems, the parent of Infowars, would not be liquidated partly because the process would be costly and lengthy.

The dismissal of the bankruptcy case against the outlet meant that the families were free to go after Jones’ assets, including Infowars, in state court. Since Jones is the owner of Free Speech Systems, a court appointed trustee was put in charge of the company.

The trustee wrote on Sunday that since being appointed, he 'began planning to wind-up (Free Speech Systems’) operations and liquidate its inventory.'” (our emphasis)

The Sandy Hook parents can never be compensated enough for the pain caused by Alex Jones' vile lies that the massacre was staged by "actors." 

(photo: Jones blubbers on air. Screenshot)

 

Hate-Filled Alex Jones To Liquidate Assets

Far-right conspiracy monger and "Info Wars" hate spewer Alex Jones has agreed to sell of his assets to satisfy part of the $1.5 billion in a settlement to the families of the Sandy Hook massacre. It's expected that the asset sale will fall far short of the money owed. From Reuters:

"Jones, who filed for U.S. bankruptcy protection 17 months ago, has given up trying to reach a bankruptcy deal that would reduce the $1.5 billion that he owes to the relatives of 20 students and six staff members killed in the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

Instead, Jones decided this week to proceed with a court-supervised liquidation of his assets.

Chris Mattei, an attorney for the Sandy Hook families, said on Friday that Jones' pivot to a Chapter 7 liquidation was a moment of 'meaningful accountability' for his repeated lies, pushing the broadcaster to the 'brink of justice.'

'Alex Jones has hurt so many people,' Mattei said. 'The Connecticut families have fought for years to hold him responsible no matter the cost and at great personal peril.'" (our emphasis)

Jones promulgated a vile and despicable conspiracy theory that the massacre was a "false flag" by gun control advocates and was performed by "child actors." 

Once the sale is complete, Jones is still liable to pay the full judgement:

"While the liquidation will yield only a fraction of the money he owes the families, they objected to his proposal because it would have kept him in control of both InfoWars and his wealth for many years, while also capping the total amount that he would pay toward the defamation claims.

The court-supervised liquidation will allow the families to benefit from immediate asset sales, while keeping their claim on Jones' assets alive in the event he accrues wealth in the future." (our emphasis)

We would caution against those taking Jones at his word. He's proven to be a slippery and dishonest p.o.s., so close monitoring is essential. 

(photo: screen shot of Jones bawling when talking about the forced sale;  cry more!)

 

Musk Restores Depraved Alex Jones To "X"

Far right wing self-described "free speech absolutist"(except when it comes to criticizing him) and narcissistic mogul Elon Musk has reinstated the "X" / Twitter account of the vile and sick conspiracy monger Alex Jones, after conducting a non-scientific poll. Jones' account was suspended in 2018 after multiple instances of hate speech and pushing his heinous "false flag" lie about the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary massacre. The parents of the murdered children won a massive civil case against Jones for those lies. From Reuters:

"Social media platform X on Sunday showed the account of U.S. conspiracy theorist Alex Jones to have been reinstated after a poll organized by owner Elon Musk backed his return after a ban of nearly five years.

'The people have spoken and so it shall be,' Musk posted in reply to a poll on Saturday on whether to reinstate the Jones account. Close to 2 million votes were cast by the time the poll closed, with about 70% voting in favor of Jones' return. [snip]

Since Musk's takeover of the platform, it has reinstated previously suspended accounts including that of former U.S. President Donald Trump.

Alex Jones, who has promoted conspiracy theories about the Sandy Hook school shooting, was ordered last year to pay nearly $1.5 billion in damages to relatives of the victims for falsely claiming they were actors who staged the shooting as part of a government plot to seize Americans’ guns."  (our emphasis)

The unscientific poll that Musk used to cover for his desire to bring Jones back to the platform is an indicator of how the social media has become populated with hate-spewing right-wing, white nationalist and anti-Semitic users since Musk took over Twitter and lifted previous bans on them.

Musk's increasingly erratic behavior and permissive attitude toward hate speech has caused a flood of advertisers and users to leave, with monthly users down 19% since Musk took over the platform and with revenues from ads off 64% in the first 10 months of 2023. This latest depravity won't reverse those ominous numbers for Musk.

 

Alex Jones Must Pay Nearly $1 Billion To Sandy Hook Families

 

A jury in Connecticut righteously sticks it to foul shitstain Alex Jones for his unhinged Sandy Hook conspiracy mongering:

Right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones must pay at least $965 million in damages to numerous families of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook mass shooting for falsely claiming they were actors who faked the tragedy, a Connecticut jury said on Wednesday,

The verdict, which came after three weeks of testimony in a state court in Waterbury, Connecticut, far outstripped the $49 million Jones was ordered to pay by a Texas jury in a similar case in August.

The plaintiffs were relatives of 20 children and six staff members who were gunned down at Sandy Hook Elementary School in December 2012. Jones claimed for years that the massacre was staged as part of a government plot to take away Americans' guns.

Jurors said the plaintiffs should also be awarded attorney's fees, which are set to be determined in November.

Lawyers for families of eight Sandy Hook victims during closing arguments in Connecticut last week said Jones cashed in for years on lies about the shooting, which drove traffic to his Infowars website and boosted sales of its various products. [snip]

The trial was marked by weeks of anguished testimony from the families, who filled the gallery each day and took turns recounting how Jones’ lies about Sandy Hook compounded their grief. An FBI agent who responded to the shooting is also a plaintiff in the case.

Jones, who has since acknowledged that the shooting occurred, also testified and briefly threw the trial into chaos as he railed against his “liberal” critics and refused to apologize to the families.

In August, another jury found that Jones and his company must pay $49.3 million to Sandy Hook parents in a similar case in Austin, Texas, where the headquarters of Jones' Infowars conspiracy theory website is located.

Will the flabby shitstain try to avoid paying?  Of course he will.  But -- 

Jury awards plaintiffs --Sandy Hook victims whom Alex Jones defamed--against of nearly 1 BILLION $. He will try to duck it for the rest of his life but he is basically ruined, and couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

— Harry Litman (@harrylitman) October 12, 2022

 

(Photo:  Yeah, you heard that right-- nearly $1 billion.)

$45.2 Million In Punitive Damages For Alex Jones

Justice is (somewhat) served:

A Texas jury has decided to penalize Alex Jones with $45.2 million in punitive damages in a lawsuit filed by the parents of Sandy Hook shooting victim Jesse Lewis.

The award, which the judge could reduce, came one day after the jury settled on $4.1 million in compensatory damages.  [snip]

 

Punitive damages are a form of punishment for a defendant's behavior. Jones, the head of the conspiratorial media outlet Infowars, repeatedly lied about the Sandy Hook massacre. He stoked conspiracy theories about the victims and their families, prompting multiple defamation lawsuits. He has since acknowledged that the mass shooting occurred.

 

Jones claimed in his testimony that a jury award of just $2 million would destroy him financially. But on Friday morning the jurors heard testimony about Jones' wealth from an economist, Bernard Pettingill, Jr., who estimated Jones has a net worth of between $135 million and $270 million.

 

With the compensatory damages of $4 million awarded yesterday, Jones will pay a portion of the roughly $200 million he's purported to be worth.  It's only a start.  So, let the lawsuits proceed!

(Photo:  Yes, you, you pig/ Briana Sanchez, Reuters)

Tweets Of The Day: Is It Over? Did We Win?

So much hilarity on Twitter today over the warning by ultra- right wing garbage troll Alex Jones that "the Democrats" would be starting a Second Civil War today (not linking to his tweet!). There are literally thousands of wonderful tweets written in the style of a Ken Burns Civil War combatant's letter home, enough to keep you laughing the rest of the day (the hashtag #secondcivilwarletters has been trending on Twitter all day), but here's just a small sample to whet your appetite:

Dear Ma,

In preparing for tomorrow's battle, we spent the day using Hillary's emails to build our fortress.  There is no doubt now that we will be victorious as no one can seem to get over them.  Now we covfefe till morning.

Happy Second Civil War Eve!#secondcivilwarletters

— Be Best Bowling Green Victim (@TeamGulley) July 4, 2018

Dearest Mother,
I have, as you bid me, gone to the war to become a man. The fortunes of that conflict have brought me in contact with the female of the species, as I so fondly hoped. The encounter was not the transport of masculine joy you led me to expect. #secondcivilwarletters pic.twitter.com/8JoAWo1ykj

— WeaponizedHat (@Popehat) July 3, 2018

My Darling,

The Red Hats captured Durham, only to be confounded in their occupation by the gender neutral bathrooms. They’d sooner shit themselves than use them, and have begun to do so.

Victory is at hand. #secondcivilwarletters

— Brian Hawkins (@bullcitybrian) July 4, 2018

Our foe confounds us. Though they claim to love both the Constitution and the Bible, they seem to have not read either. And don’t get me started on how they treat people actually named Jesus. #secondcivilwarletters

— Paul Wiley (@WileyPaul) July 4, 2018

Dear General Hannity,

A battalion of angry women in pink pussy hats has us surrounded.  Our supply of deer urine and stink bait is running low and we haven’t had internet contact with Alex Jones in over a week.  We’re dumb and desperate!  Help!#SecondCivilWarLetters

— Col. Morris Davis (@ColMorrisDavis) July 4, 2018

“Don’t fire until you can see the whites of their robes!” #secondcivilwarletters

— Zach Keller (@iufanatic1981) July 4, 2018

I’m on my way to muster in my camouflage uniform. I’ll see you in a few!#secondcivilwarletters pic.twitter.com/PiIxkQmsY9

— Octavia (@Octavias_World) July 4, 2018

Dearest Charles, MealTeam6 has infiltrated our camp. They ate many of our supplies, but left the fruits and vegetables. Waiting on reinforcements. #SecondCivilWar #secondcivilwarletters pic.twitter.com/srUHSIJgax

— Water Drinker (@GenaRay18) July 4, 2018

And, finally,

Dear Ma and Pa

I am below 30% with no charger in sight, forcing me to come home and organize for the second tier of the war.  Mobilizing voters for the midterms.#secondcivilwarletters pic.twitter.com/zntHqS5VhN

— Squid Would Have an NRA Rating of 'F' (@GhostofFrid) July 4, 2018

BONUS:  Victory may be ours because the dimbulb Red Hats have been distracted and are busy assailing National Public Radio for tweeting out... the Declaration of Independence line by line. 

Wonder Why Right-Wing Nuts Are Shooting People?

We offer Exhibits A and B.

Here's grifting crackpot Glenn "Boo Hoo" Beck, further descending into madness and stoking the gun-fondlers:

On his radio broadcast today [Friday], Glenn Beck warned that too many crises are piling up all at the same time which will cause the press to finally turn on President Obama. That, in turn, will cause Obama to finally snap and start rounding up conservatives and putting them into camps.  (our emphasis)

 Then there's fellow madman Alex "A Ton of Bricks Short of a Load" Jones on his hate-radio show:

Conspiracy nut Alex Jones has been opining that the Obama administration has been hot on the heels of the Tea Party movement and will use tanks, drones and everything else to mount an attack on them. After the Las Vegas shooting, Jones said he was convinced that Harry Reid and others planted a false flag operation against him and other gun nuts because - freedom.  (our emphasis)

You can guess where we'd like to plant a flag - false or otherwise - in both Beck and Jones, right? We sense both Beck and Jones are engaging in a little paranoid would-be self-inoculation from the prospect of their being shut down by the Obama Administration (ah, we can only dream) for their seditionist rantings.

These are only two of the most prominent lunatics spouting crackpot conspiracies that feed the paranoia contributing to the acts of violence we've been experiencing.  (The Las Vegas domestic terrorists "liked" Alex Jones, among other cretins, on their Facebook page.)  Unfortunately, for every Beck or Jones, there are dozens of others broadcasting toxic messages to their low-information, paranoid audiences.

In these instances, there's a clinical level of paranoia.  If they were only expressing their delusions to the voices in their heads, it would be of no consequence to the rest of us.  But, they're not, and that is of consequence to the rest of us.