A Texas judge on Friday approved the liquidation of the personal assets of Alex Jones, American conspiracy figure, allowing him to begin paying $1.5 billion in compensation to families of victims of a shooting.
The presenter and owner of the far-right site Infowars lied about a 2012 shooting at the Sandy Hook school in Connecticut, saying it was just a staged incident.
His lies had gone viral, leading to the harassment of families of victims of the massacre, where 20 children and 6 adults died. Families, claiming to have received death or even rape threats from his supporters, took him to court and won their case.
But Alex Jones declared personal bankruptcy in 2022 and filed for bankruptcy of his company, Free Speech Systems, based in Texas.
On Friday, the judge allowed Mr. Jones to convert his personal bankruptcy into outright liquidation.
The ruling means that many of Mr. Jones’ personal assets — including a Texas ranch worth about $2.8 million — can be sold to pay debts. His assets are estimated to be around $9 million.
Other assets, such as his home in the Austin, Texas area, are also expected to be exempt from liquidation.
The judge did not, however, declare the liquidation of his company, which should allow his site, Infowars, to continue its activity and Mr. Jones to continue to speak there.
A “big victory”, welcomed the website Friday evening.
Before entering the courtroom Friday, Alex Jones denounced an “instrumentalization of the justice system,” adding that his case “is a test case for what is now being done to President Trump, Steve Bannon and others », in reference to the recent conviction of these conservative figures.
Alex Jones amassed a fortune by linking his conspiracy site to the sale of dietary supplements and other merchandise.
For example, the presenter relayed information according to which the American government is feminizing men using chemical pollutants and using these untruths to promote testosterone boosters.