Sandy Hook families ask for Alex Jones media company’s liquidation

by Lauren Sforza - 06/03/24 7:25 PM ET

FILE - Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones takes the witness stand to testify at the Sandy Hook defamation damages trial at Connecticut Superior Court in Waterbury, Conn. Thursday, Sept. 22, 2022. A bank recently shut down the accounts of Jones' media company citing unauthorized transactions — a move that caused panic at the business when its balances suddenly dropped from more than $2 million to zero, according to a bankruptcy lawyer for the company. (Tyler Sizemore/Hearst Connecticut Media via AP, Pool, File) — Tyler Sizemore/Hearst Connecticut Media via AP, Pool, File
FILE – Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones takes the witness stand to testify at the Sandy Hook defamation damages trial at Connecticut Superior Court in Waterbury, Conn. Thursday, Sept. 22, 2022.

The families of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting asked a bankruptcy judge to liquidate Alex Jones’s media company over the weekend.

Jones and his company, Free Speech Systems, filed for bankruptcy protection after he was ordered in 2022 to pay nearly $1.5 billion to family members of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012. Those families had sued Jones for promoting false conspiracy theories that the shooting that left 26 people dead was a hoax.

The families filed an emergency motion in the Southern District of Texas on Sunday to ask the bankruptcy court to convert the bankruptcy reorganization into a liquidation, according to court documents.

“The Connecticut Families firmly believe that a supervised liquidation is critical at this time, and will bring the FSS Case to a much-needed conclusion in a manner that will allow creditors to realize immediate recovery,” the motion states.

Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez said he will address the motion on June 14, according to The Associated Press (AP). The media company will be allowed to operate until at least that date, the judge ruled.

The motion cited comments that Jones made over the weekend on his podcast, claiming that his media company was going to be shut down by the federal government and the bankruptcy system. He also said at one point that his followers should “surround the building and just make a big issue of this and expose this” to protect the company, according to the court document.

The Associated Press noted that Jones appeared to cry at some points.

“At the end of the day, we’re going to beat these people. I’m not trying to be dramatic here, but it’s been a hard fight. These people hate our children,” Jones said on his Saturday show, according to the AP.

The AP reported that Jones’s shows appeared to be in response to disagreements between Jones, a court-appointed restructuring officer and PQPR Holdings Limited. PQPR supplies nutritional supplements that Jones sells on his shows, but he also owns most of the company, according to AP.

An attorney of PQPR opposed allowing Free Speech Systems to operate until June 14, while attorneys for Jones wanted the company to be allowed to operate, according to the news service.

The Hill has reached out to lawyers representing Free Speech Systems in the case.

The Associated Press contributed.

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