On June 3, three legal entities connected to conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ InfoWars have agreed to withdraw their Chapter 11 case, marking a victory for the relatives of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims. The Newtown, Connecticut, shooting took place on December 14, 2012, leaving 20 children and six school employees dead.
The victim’s families filed complaints against the radio host for allegedly spreading false information about them being involved in a false flag operation staged to advocate gun control.
Jones’ media companies (Infowars, Prison Planet, and Infowars Health) sought the Chapter 11 protection after Jones was found legally responsible for damages in three defamation lawsuits related to false claims he made about the mass shooting. The move temporarily paused civil litigation against the companies from the Sandy Hook families.
The families have said that Jones’ bankruptcy was a “sinister” attempt to shelter his assets from accountability due to the cases.
In Thursday’s filing, Kyung Lee, a lawyer for the Jones entities, said, “The facts are that these Chapter 11 cases were filed in good faith and would still serve a valid bankruptcy purpose. Nonetheless, the Debtors … recognize that the dismissal is in the best interests of the Debtors and their estates.”
The U.S. Trustee continued to seek dismissal of the bankruptcy, which a lawyer for the three entities agreed to on Thursday.
Christopher Mattei, a lawyer for Sandy Hook families suing Jones in Connecticut, said, “The stipulation proves what we’ve said from the beginning: this bankruptcy was a sham attempt by Alex Jones to pit families against one another and avoid his reckoning with a jury.”
“It didn’t work,” Mattei said. “We look forward to trial.”
Mark Bankston, legal counsel in a Texas lawsuit for the parents of two Sandy Hook children, said, “[I]t’s hardly a surprise that Mr. Jones abandoned his ridiculous stunt, and we expect Mr. Jones and his attorneys will be fined for this fraudulent and dishonest bankruptcy.”
“Fortunately, Mr. Jones’ bad faith scheme evaporated almost immediately, and we are now back on track for Mr. Jones to face a jury of his peers in late July,” Bankston said.
