Alex Jones’ Company Has Filed For Bankruptcy

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On Friday, Free Speech Systems LLC, the parent media company of Infowars star Alex Jones, filed for bankruptcy amid an ongoing defamation lawsuit in Texas.

According to Fox News, the family of one of the children killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting is seeking $150 million or more.

The bankruptcy filing by Free Speech Systems LLC would normally result in the trial and related litigation being halted. But Free Speech plans to ask a bankruptcy judge to allow the trial currently underway in Texas to continue and is seeking an emergency hearing on Monday, according to a court filing.

Nevertheless, Jones and his company could later attempt to use the bankruptcy proceedings, which commenced in another Texas court, to limit the size of any damages a jury awards.

The entities that previously declared bankruptcy — InfoW, IW Health, and Prison Planet — voluntarily ended their cases in June after the Sandy Hook families dropped them as defendants in the defamation litigation. The proposal contemplated legal releases shielding Jones and his company from the lawsuits in exchange for the payment.

From Law&Crime:

Free Speech Systems reported in a bankruptcy form document that “its aggregate noncontingent liquidated debts (excluding debts owed to insiders or affiliates) are less than $7,500,000, and it chooses to proceed under Subchapter V of Chapter 11.”

Chapter 11 bankruptcies are frequently dubbed “reorganization” cases. They generally allow companies to remain in control of their own operations and do not require companies to liquidate their assets.

‘Fox News’ gives us more details of this report:

The trial in Austin, where Jones lives and Free Speech Systems is based, is to determine how much Jones should pay for defaming Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, whose 6-year-old son, Jesse Lewis, was among the 20 children and six educators killed in the nation’s deadliest school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.

They and other Sandy Hook families suing Jones say they have suffered years of harassment and threats resulting from Jones’ repeated false claims that the shooting was a hoax perpetuated to induce gun control measures or didn’t happen. It wrapped up its first week of testimony Friday and is expected to conclude next week.

Jones’ attorney, Andino Reynal, announced the bankruptcy filing late in the day Friday.

Both he and attorneys for the family suing Jones told Judge Maya Guerra Gamble of Travis County District Court that the bankruptcy filing would not halt the lawsuit. The New York Times reported that Gamble, therefore, ordered that the trial continues to a verdict despite the bankruptcy filing, which in other circumstances would have stalled the litigation.

It is not the first time a bankruptcy filing has come amid litigation against Jones by the Sandy Hook families. In April, Jones’ company Infowars and two more of his business entities filed for bankruptcy protection, which led to a trial delay. Free Speech Systems is the parent company of Infowars.

Courts in Texas and Connecticut have already found Jones liable for defamation for his portrayal of the Sandy Hook massacre as a hoax involving actors aimed at increasing gun control.

In both states, judges issued default judgments against Jones without trials because he failed to respond to court orders and turn over documents.

Christopher Mattei, an attorney for the Sandy Hook families in the Connecticut case, issued a statement Friday evening blasting the bankruptcy filing.

“Just two days before jury selection is due to begin in Connecticut, Mr. Jones has once again fled like a coward to bankruptcy court in a transparent attempt to delay facing the families that he has spent years hurting,” Mattei said. “These families have an endless well of patience and remain determined to hold Mr. Jones accountable in a Connecticut court.”

Jones claimed in court records last year that he had a negative net worth of $20 million, but attorneys for Sandy Hook families have painted a different financial picture.

Court records show that Jones’ Infowars store, which sells nutritional supplements and survival gear, made more than $165 million between 2015 and 2018.

Jones has also urged listeners on his Infowars program to donate money.

Sources: WND, FoxNews, Lawandcrime

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