Texas Judge Orders Infowars Assets Turned Over to Receiver for Sale to Pay Sandy Hook Families

A Texas state judge has ordered that Infowars’ parent company be placed in receivership, paving the way for its assets to be sold to help satisfy more than $1 billion in defamation judgments owed by its founder, Alex Jones, to families of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims.

At an Aug. 13 hearing in Travis County’s 459th District Court, Judge Maya Guerra Gamble announced she was granting a post-judgment motion to appoint a receiver over Free Speech Systems, parent company of Infowars, according to the court’s civil docket, additional reporting from NPR, and remarks by Jones on his show.

Jones said that the ruling could revive a stalled plan by satirical news site The Onion to acquire Infowars. The Onion’s $1.75 million bid was previously approved in a bankruptcy auction last year before a federal judge voided the sale, citing issues with the process.

“A judge ordered the sale of Alex Jones Infowars today, clearing the way for The Onion to renew its attempt to buy the notorious conspiracy-fueled empire,” Jones read from a message posted on Bluesky by Jon Passentino, executive editor at Status News.

Ben Collins, CEO of The Onion, posted: “We’re working on it. That’s all I can say for now.”

Commenting on the development, Jones says he expects “shenanigans” from The Onion in its attempt to buy Infowars, and he described his effort to prevent the sale and retain control of the company as a “marathon” and “long-term battle.”

“So yes, the judge has put a receiver in,” Jones said, adding that the court has “prepared the way for the Travis County Sheriff to … take the building.”

The litigants have turned down offers of “giant settlements,” Jones said.

“They don’t want money; they want it closed,” he said.

He said that Infowars has “survived, over the years, a lot of attacks, a lot of lawfare, a lot of rigged garbage” and that if the takeover of Infowars’ assets proceeds, he will continue his news commentary operations on a different platform.

The ruling authorizes the receiver, Gregory Milligan, to take control of company property, collect receivables, and arrange for a sale, and sheriffs and peace officers are directed to assist if needed, NPR reported, citing the judge’s order.

Attorneys for the families of Sandy Hook victims welcomed the decision.

“The families are pleased that the court has placed Infowars parent company into receivership, which will finally lead to accountability,” attorney Mark Bankston said, according to NPR.

The Epoch Times has reached out to Bankston with a request for comment.

Jones was found liable in trials in Connecticut and Texas for false statements about the 2012 shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, in which 20 children and six educators were killed. The families said those statements, made on Infowars and in other venues, led to harassment by some of Jones’s followers who said the shooting never occurred.

Jones has denied that he should pay the families, although he said in court that he believes that his comments about the shooting were “absolutely irresponsible” and said the shooting was real. He has also argued that the lawsuit against him was a bid to silence him and violated his constitutional rights and that the judgments against him were excessive.

The asset fight over Free Speech Systems shifted to state court in 2024 after the dismissal of the company’s bankruptcy case.

Most of the Sandy Hook families continue to support a sale of the Infowars brand and property to The Onion, which has said it would repurpose the platform as a parody.