A media company founded by far-right radio personality and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday after a series of lawsuits by parents of children who were killed at an elementary school of Connecticut almost ten years ago.
The company that runs the Infowars radio program and associated digital properties has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in federal court after a judge held Jones and his media company liable in a libel lawsuit filed by the families of the children killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
The shooting claimed the lives of 20 children and seven adults from the school. It was perpetrated by Adam Lanza, a 20-year-old Connecticut man whose motive remains unknown. Jones repeatedly and incorrectly claimed on his radio show that the shooting was a “hoax” and claimed the families were “actors” who faked the deaths of their children.
The families sued Jones for his comments, claiming the radio show host harassed them from his listener and other members of the public. Jones and his attorneys said the lawsuits were a threat to his First Amendment rights, but a judge ruled against him and the court was in the process of selecting a jury to calculate and award damages to the defendants. families in the business. The Wall Street Journal reported.
The lawsuits have already hurt a huge chunk of Jones’ business: his Infowars profiles on YouTube, Twitter and other platforms have been taken down in recent years as the reach and spread of his conspiracy theories have grown too heavy. to bear for businesses.
His radio program continues to be distributed on a few fringe broadcast radio stations across the country after his show was removed from Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other podcast platforms.
In court documents released Monday, Jones and his attorneys said Infowars would be managed by a neutral party throughout the bankruptcy proceedings. Appointing a neutral party would allow for the possibility of a settlement, they said.
Jones and Infowars have spent about $10 million fighting the lawsuits, the Journal reported. He previously offered to settle with the Sandy Hook families for $120,000 per plaintiff. The settlement offer was rejected.
A lawyer representing the families of victims of the Sandy Hook shooting said the bankruptcy petition only delayed the inevitable.
“[He] will be held accountable for its for-profit campaign of lies against the Sandy Hook families who filed this lawsuit,” Chris Mattei, an attorney representing the families, said in a statement.
