Alex Jones Sues Sandy Hook Parents, The Onion to Stop Infowars Sale

Infowars founder Alex Jones takes photos at a hearing to examine foreign influence operations' use of social media platforms before the Intelligence Committee at the Capitol in Washington on Sept. 5, 2018. Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times

Alex Jones is suing to block the sale of his Infowars media company to satirical newspaper The Onion, which emerged as the winning bidder in a bankruptcy auction last week.

In a complaint filed late Monday night, the broadcaster asked a federal bankruptcy court in Texas to disqualify The Onion’s bid and instead recognize First United American Companies LLC—operator of his online supplement store—as the rightful winner of the auction.

Jones criticized The Onion’s $1.75 million winning bid as “sheer nonsense,” because it was only half the amount of what First United offered. He also objected to The Onion’s intentions to repurpose Infowars to advocate for progressive causes like gun control, a stance diametrically opposed to his own and that of his audience.

“Jones is faced with the sale of his persona, including his name and Jones IP content, made available to a bidder that intends to use the persona and IP to mimic Jones, confuse Jones’ audiences as to the truth and source of this use, and otherwise gain an economic advantage by destroying Jones’ right to the exclusive use of his persona,” the complaint reads.

The sale of Infowars is part of a liquidation proceeding overseen by Christopher Murray, a court-appointed trustee, aimed at covering nearly $1.5 billion in defamation judgments owed to families of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre. Over the years, Jones repeatedly called the shooting a hoax staged by actors to build support for gun control, spurring lengthy legal battles.

On Nov. 14, Murray declared The Onion—in a joint bid with some Sandy Hook families—the winner of most of the assets of Free Speech Systems LLC, Infowars’ parent company. As part of the bid, the Connecticut parents agreed to waive some of the proceeds from this sale in favor of other creditors, a move Murray calculated would generate more overall value than First United’s higher cash offer.

Jones disagreed with Murray’s analysis.

“This is not a cash bid,” he argued in the complaint. “In fact, it is difficult to understand and literally impossible to value. The entire arrangement violates the bid protocols and is neither legal, moral or ethical.”

The Infowars founder also raised issues with the unconventional nature of the joint bid, which he alleges lacks a clear legal definition and undermines the integrity of the auction process.

“Allowing two bidders to work together to submit a ‘joint bid’ is to not just countenance but participate in illegal, collusive bid rigging, which the Defendants assured the Bankruptcy Court would not occur,” his complaint reads.

First United has filed its own lawsuit on Monday seeking to disqualify The Onion’s bid. The suit accused the trustee and the parody news site of colluding to block its $3.5 million cash offer, but didn’t go as far as to include Sandy Hook parents.

In a response Monday, Murray called the allegations by First United “a disappointed bidder’s improper attempt to influence an otherwise fair and open auction process.” He also filed separate court papers asking the judge to approve The Onion’s winning bid, which he valued at more than $7 million.

Both cases are overseen by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez, who will schedule more hearings to gather more information before deciding on the sale.