Latest news with #MayaGuerraGamble
USA Today
2 days ago
- Business
- USA Today
Texas judge rules that Alex Jones' Infowars will be put up for sale once again
Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones faced another setback in court as a Texas district judge ruled that his Infowars platform could be put up for sale again. The decision follows a 2024 ruling to halt an earlier sale due to concerns about the auction process. Judge Maya Guerra Gamble ruled on Wednesday, Aug. 13, that Infowars' parent company, Free Speech Systems, was to be placed in the hands of a court-appointed receiver and that the company's assets would be used to pay the $1.3 billion in legal judgments. In 2022, the courts ruled that Jones defamed the families of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting, in which six adults and 20 children were killed. He made repeated false claims that the massacre was a 'hoax' staged as part of a government plot to confiscate guns from Americans. Gamble's order paves the way for The Onion to try yet again to purchase Infowars and its assets. In December 2024, the satirical news site initially won the court-ordered auction for Infowars, but a U.S. bankruptcy judge blocked the sale, stating that the bankruptcy auction did not result in the best possible the court's latest ruling, The Onion's CEO Ben Collins posted on the social media platform Bluesky on Wednesday, Aug. 13, 'We're working on it. That's all I can say for now.' Reuters and USA TODAY's Jeanine Santucci contributed to this report. Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.
Gizmodo
3 days ago
- Business
- Gizmodo
Infowars Is Back on the Market
The Onion could finally get its hands on Alex Jones' far-right media empire Infowars. On Wednesday, a Texas state judge ordered Infowars' parent company's, Free Speech System, assets be handed over to a court-appointed receiver, who will oversee their sale. The proceeds will be used to pay Jones' massive debt to the families of the children killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. The families won a $1.3 billion defamation case in 2022 against Jones, who spent years peddling false claims that the massacre was staged and that the grieving parents were crisis actors. His followers harassed the families for years. Judge Maya Guerra Gamble granted the receiver broad authority over Free Speech Systems' assets including the power to change locks on their properties, access storage units and safe-deposit boxes, and take control of their websites. 'Today's order brings us a critically important step closer to achieving the goal that the Connecticut families have spent years fighting for: holding Alex Jones accountable for years of harm,' said Chris Mattei, an attorney for the Connecticut families, in an emailed statement to Gizmodo. 'The receiver is now authorized to liquidate his business assets, and we look forward to the corrupt media empire that Jones built finally being dismantled.' Mark Bankston, an attorney for the families based in Texas, told NPR, 'The families are relieved that the court has placed Infowars' parent company into receivership, a step that will finally hold Alex Jones accountable for his monstrously cruel harassment.'' Infowars did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Gizmodo. Last December, a federal bankruptcy court judge in Texas blocked the proposed sale of Infowars to The Onion. He ruled that the bankruptcy auction process was flawed and that the satirical media company's bid was too low. The Onion's parent company, Global Tetrahedron, had offered $1.75 million in cash for the site, a bid supported by the families of the Sandy Hook victims. Bidding against them was First United American Companies, a group affiliated with Jones that helps manage his dietary supplements business, which submitted a $3.5 million offer. The Onion's original plan was to relaunch Infowars this year as a parody of itself. 'The Onion's goal with the acquisition is to end Infowars' relentless stream of disinformation used to sell supplements and replace it with The Onion's own relentless stream of humor for good,' the company said in a press release before the sale was blocked. With the state court's latest ruling, The Onion's chance to snatch up Infowars is back on the table. The company didn't immediately respond to Gizmodo's request for comment.
