Far-right conspiracy theorist and TV host Alex Jones filed for bankruptcy on Friday.
Jones infamously claimed the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting in Connecticut that took the lives of 20 students and 6 staff members was a hoax. He shared his conspiracies with his thousands of followers and stayed firm in his beliefs that the shooting was a lie.
Jones kept up with denying the horrors of the massacre for years. He had acknowledged the occurrence of the shooting, but continued to say it was staged.
In August, a Texas jury ordered Jones to pay nearly $50 million to the parents of Jesse Lewis, who was 6 years old when he was killed during the shooting.
In October, a Connecticut jury ordered Jones to pay $965 million in damages to the families of the 8 victims of the shooting for their pain caused by the blatant lies and conspiracies. The court ordered him to pay an additional $473 million in punitive damages.
This was one of 3 defamation lawsuits filed against Jones by families of the victims who sought to protect the honor of their tragically-lost loved ones.
Earlier this year, Jones said his businesses were struggling. Infowars and Free Speech Systems, its parent company, were filed for bankruptcy protection. Jones said that he only has a “couple hundred thousand dollars” in his savings account.
Jones may not be eligible for bankruptcy due to the standing cases against him— and he cannot file from “willful or malicious injury” caused by whomever is filing.
“Now that he’s filed for bankruptcy, his assets are an open book,” said bankruptcy lawyer Sidney Scheinberg. “If you hide assets in a bankruptcy case, that’s a federal crime.”
An economist in the Texas case estimates that Jones is worth between $135 million and $270 million.
Connecticut judge Barbara Bellis has temporarily blocked Jones from moving or hiding assets out of the country to ensure he pays for the damages he has caused.
