InfoWars host Alex Jones moves to liquidate assets to pay Sandy Hook families

Rightwing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones moved to liquidate his personal assets, a move that would end his ownership of InfoWars and allow him to begin paying off the $1.5 billion in legal damages he owes the families of those killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre.

Jones on Thursday requested to convert his personal bankruptcy filing into a Chapter 7 liquidation, telling a judge that “there is no reasonable prospect of a successful reorganization” of his debts, according to court filings obtained by CNN. Liquidation means the Texas-based internet personality would have to sell most of his assets, including his company, with the proceeds going directly to his creditors.

The request marks a large pivot for the InfoWars host and founder, who has mostly resisted mounting legal pressure from the Sandy Hook families. They’ve not yet received a cent from Jones despite two separate juries finding him liable for defamation and emotional distress in 2022.

Jones for years used his internet and radio shows to proclaim the 2012 school shooting was a hoax perpetrated by crisis actors to support a push for stricter gun control laws. His claims triggered a series of defamation lawsuits filed by families of several of the victims, who said they were subjected to harassment and death threats as a direct result of Jones’ commentary.

Jones — who has also claimed the Sept. 11 terror attack was an inside job and the 2020 presidential election was rigged — has since acknowledged the shooting did actually happen.

A total of 26 people, 20 elementary school students and six staffers, were killed during the violence inside the school in Newtown, Connecticut.

In October 2022, Jones was found legally responsible for his false claims. A Connecticut judge awarded the Sandy Hook families $965 million in compensatory damages; the judge later added another $473 million in punitive damages. Jones also has to pay $49.3 million in damages to a Sandy Hook victim’s family as part of a separate lawsuit in Texas.

Over the weekend, 50-year-old Jones said on his radio show that he expected InfoWars to be shut down within months.

“There’s really no avenue out of this,” Jones said on Sunday. “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.”