Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones is working to safeguard his personal social media accounts from being included in the forthcoming auction of his Infowars media venture, aimed at addressing over $1 billion owed to the families of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims. Jones claims that selling these accounts would breach his privacy rights and impede his ability to rebuild his life post-bankruptcy.
The trustee in charge of managing the liquidation and auction of Infowars and its parent company, Free Speech Systems, filed a request with a federal judge last Friday to treat social media accounts as sellable assets in the upcoming auctions set for November and December. A decision on this matter has been postponed for at least a week.
Jones’ legal team contends that the social media accounts which operate under his real name are under his personal control and do not belong to Infowars or Free Speech Systems. They reason that these accounts represent an extension of his personal identity and should not be appropriated by others.
The legal representatives maintain that trustee Christopher Murray lacks the authority to treat the accounts as assets available for sale and cautioned that any buyer might encounter legal challenges concerning the legitimacy of their acquisition.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez in Houston remarked that the proposed legal document regarding the potential sale of social media accounts, which would allow Jones to pursue ownership claims later, was ambiguous. He has tentatively scheduled an additional hearing for the following week.
“We need to ensure clarity so that everyone understands what can be sold before proceeding with a sale,” Lopez stated. “I want prospective buyers to clearly understand what they are purchasing. I do not want to expose them to litigation risks.”
In addition, the trustee is also looking to sell the rights to royalties from Jones’ book titled “The Great Reset: And the War for the World,” published in August 2022, as well as his video game “Alex Jones NWO Wars,” made available in 2023, which features Jones as a character in a shooting game.
Despite his impending loss of the company, Jones has expressed his intention to continue his talk shows through alternative avenues, which may include a new website and his personal social media platforms. He has even suggested that supporters could purchase Infowars’ assets, allowing him to maintain the Infowars brand while working as an employee in Austin, Texas, where the company is based.
The trustee’s legal team argued in court that Jones’ accounts on X and other platforms like Telegram, Gab, and Parler “are regularly used to promote Infowars content,” noting that some of these accounts have amassed substantial followings, with Jones’ X account attracting almost 3 million followers.
The trustee further asserted that social media accounts belonging to influencers, celebrities, and political figures have become highly valuable assets, and multiple parties have shown interest in purchasing Jones’ accounts.
Should these accounts be sold, Jones’ attorneys mentioned that future litigation could hinge on who the buyer is. “We have come to an understanding with the trustee that if certain bidders were to win, there would likely be subsequent litigation, while other bidders might avoid such issues,” remarked Vickie Driver, one of Jones’ attorneys.
“There’s intrinsic value for some buyers in acquiring these accounts for specific uses, while for others, the value lies in different applications,” Driver added.
Both Jones and his business filed for bankruptcy protection in 2022, the same year that families affected by the Sandy Hook tragedy were awarded nearly $1.5 billion in defamation and emotional distress lawsuits against Jones for repeatedly labeling the tragic 2012 school shooting as a hoax orchestrated by “crisis actors” to push gun control measures. The horrific event claimed the lives of 20 first-graders along with six educators in Newtown, Connecticut.
During the two civil cases held in Texas and Connecticut, numerous parents and children of the shooting victims testified about the psychological trauma inflicted by Jones’ false conspiracy theories and the actions of his followers. Victims’ relatives recounted being harassed and threatened by Jones’ supporters, who even approached grieving families to assert the shooting was fabricated and that their children never existed. One parent shared an unsettling encounter in which someone threatened to exhume his deceased son’s grave.
Jones is currently appealing the civil jury’s decisions, invoking his free speech rights while questioning the families’ ability to demonstrate a clear link between his statements and the harassment faced by them. He has acknowledged that the Sandy Hook shooting indeed occurred.
