A company connected to conspiracy theorist Alex Jones submitted a request to a federal judge on Monday, seeking to disqualify the offer made by The Onion, a satirical news service, to acquire Jones’ Infowars during an ongoing bankruptcy auction. The company, known as First United American Companies and linked to one of Jones’ dietary supplement websites, was the only other party that placed a bid during the auction, submitting an offer totaling $3.5 million. In a filing made in federal bankruptcy court in Houston, an attorney representing the company urged the judge to recognize their bid as the successful one instead of that of The Onion.
The attorney, Walter Cicack, argued that the trustee in charge of overseeing the auction improperly conspired with The Onion and the families affected by the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy when naming The Onion as the winning bidder. Furthermore, Cicack claimed that the trustee failed to adhere to guidelines laid out by the judge, asserting that First United American’s cash offer was double that of The Onion’s. The bankruptcy auction occurred last week as part of the liquidation process for Jones’ assets, which includes Infowars, with revenue generated from the sale destined for the Sandy Hook families as well as other creditors.
In 2022, Jones filed for bankruptcy after being ordered to pay around $1.5 billion in damages for defamation lawsuits initiated by the families of the Sandy Hook victims. He had previously labeled the 2012 shooting, during which 20 children and six educators were killed, as a staged event designed to promote gun control initiatives. Ben Collins, CEO of The Onion’s parent company Global Tetrahedron, based in Chicago, released a statement on Monday through a representative, expressing disappointment in Jones’ reaction. “It’s disheartening to see him resorting to conspiracies, but we were not caught off guard,” Collins remarked, referring to the controversy surrounding Jones.
Christopher Murray, the bankruptcy trustee responsible for the auction, refrained from making comments on Monday. Similarly, attorney Christopher Mattei, representing the Sandy Hook families, also declined to provide remarks regarding the ongoing situation. In a courtroom response filed later the same day, Murray dismissed the allegations brought forth by First United American as “baseless,” labeling their motion to invalidate The Onion’s bid as a strategy of a disgruntled bidder looking to unduly influence what was otherwise a fair auction process.
Murray emphasized, “After failing in prior attempts to intimidate the Trustee and his advisors into accepting their lesser bid, First United American claims, without any evidence, that collusion or bad faith occurred in an effort to mislead the court and eliminate its only competitor in the auction.” The official bid documents submitted by First United American revealed that The Onion’s offer was set at $1.75 million, which included incentives from the Sandy Hook families, who had won their defamation case against Jones. These families agreed to relinquish up to 100% of their share of the proceeds from the Infowars sale to support other creditors associated with Jones.
According to The Onion’s bidding presentation, the arrangement ensured that other creditors would receive an additional $100,000 compared to what they would obtain if First United American took over Infowars. Murray conveyed to the bankruptcy judge during a Thursday hearing that the incentives offered by the families rendered The Onion’s proposal more favorable than that from the company affiliated with Jones. He stated that he had a duty to guarantee the maximum value for the creditors involved.
Judge Christopher Lopez expressed some reservations regarding the sale process, citing transparency concerns, and has scheduled a hearing to clarify how the auction unfolded and the reasoning behind the selection of The Onion. The specific date for this hearing is still pending. Jones has publicly criticized the auction process, asserting through his shows and social media that it has been “rigged” and fraudulent.
Over the past weekend, Collins shared updates about the auction on X, previously known as Twitter. “To summarize: we secured the bid, and — surprise, surprise — the former InfoWars team isn’t handling it well,” he shared. Collins also indicated last week that The Onion’s intent was to convert the Infowars website into a parody platform, targeting conspiracy theorists and other similar social media figures while advocating for measures to prevent gun violence.
In the court filing, Cicack further claimed that the trustee inappropriately altered the auction dynamics “from a live auction to a secret process.” He explained that after sealed bids were submitted on November 8, there was an expectation for a live bidding round on November 13. However, Murray solicited final best offers instead, opting from those without conducting the anticipated live bidding session. Cicack alleged this move breached the established auction regulations.
While Lopez’s order regarding the auction procedures allowed for discretion, indicating such live bidding was optional, it also granted substantial authority to Murray for conducting the sale and the right to reject any bids that were not in the best interests of Jones, his company, or its creditors. Cicack criticized the Sandy Hook families’ involvement in The Onion’s bid, dubbing it “Monopoly money” lacking any real value, and accused them of colluding with The Onion to “rig” the auction for a predetermined outcome desired by the Connecticut families.