Although online influencers and personalities are among the largest contributors to the spread of disinformation, most escape financial liability through First Amendment protections.[1] Alex Jones, however, exceeded these protections through his comments on the Sandy Hook school shooting in 2012.[2] Specifically, since 2012, Jones, on his political talk show “Info Wars,” has reported that the Sandy Hook school shooting was a hoax, claiming that the individuals who lost their lives and their grieving families were paid actors.[3] In both the Texas and Connecticut suits, the Sandy Hook families joined as the plaintiffs and filed a defamation action against Jones.[4] As a result, in 2021, Jones was subjected to a judgment collectively totaling about $1.3 billion. Since, Jones has unsuccessfully made multiple Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings in an attempt to limit his liability and protect his subsidiary, Free Speech Systems (“FSS”), Info Wars’ parent company.[5]
Following the $1 billion-plus judgments against Jones, Judge Christopher M. Lopez, in June of 2024, converted Jones’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy to Chapter 7, appointed a trustee to sell FSS, and dismissed FSS’s own Chapter 11 petition.[6] Jones, however, has continued to avoid selling FSS and stall the remedy process, most recently by obtaining an emergency order, from the Texas Court of Appeals, stating that FSS fell within Jones’ automatic stay.[7] This prompted the plaintiffs to file a motion seeking confirmation that FSS is not protected, which the court has since granted.[8]
Chapter 11 bankruptcy generally applies to corporations seeking to reorganize assets and continue operations while restructuring debts.[9] The debtor typically retains control of assets under court supervision.[10] Although liquidation is possible, Chapter 11 primarily aims to rehabilitate a company under the belief that corporations represent more than mere assets; they affect numerous lives.[11] In contrast, under Chapter 7, a trustee is appointed to sell the debtor’s assets to distribute the proceeds to creditors, focusing solely on liquidation.[12] Additionally, Chapter 7 allows for certain property to be exempt, like an individual’s primary residence.[13] However, if the trustee determines the property is too burdensome or of inconsequential value, the property can be abandoned, allowing the debtor to regain control over the asset.[14]
Alex Jones is one of the most notorious individuals for spreading disinformation online.[15] Jones has repeatedly promoted unfounded allegations, like alleging that the September 11 attacks were an inside job or that the FBI orchestrated the Boston Marathon bombing.[16] Most infamously, Jones was found liable for defamation after reporting that the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting in 2012 was a hoax.[17] In both lawsuits, Jones was subjected to default judgment for failing to respond to discovery requests in good faith.[18] Even though Jones was unable to argue why his comments were protected speech, legal experts and courts generally agree that Jones’ $1 billion judgment was justified due to Jones’ statements directly targeting and harming the Sandy Hook families.[19]
Since Jones’ $1 billion judgment, Jones has attempted to circumvent his liability by filing multiple Chapter 11 bankruptcies. As noted by the DOJ, Jones’ use of bankruptcy has likely been abusive by avoiding “the burdens of bankruptcy while reaping its benefits.”[20] Ideally for Jones, Chapter 11 allows him to maintain control of his assets while forcing the plaintiffs to negotiate their remedy under bankruptcy rather than pursuing maximum damages in court.[21] However, because Jones’ defamatory language was “willful and malicious…to another entity or to the property of another,” the court, last year, converted Jones’ case to Chapter 7, dismissing FSS’s Chapter 11 claim, and appointing Christopher Murray to sell FSS as the Chapter 7 trustee.[22]
Most recently, Jones has further attempted to obstruct payment by securing an emergency stay from the Third District Texas Court of Appeals, arguing that his subsidiary interest in FSS was subject to the automatic stay according to Judge Lopez’s previous supplemental dismissal order.[23] Thus, the Sandy Hook plaintiffs, on September 26, 2025, sought clarification that Jones’ stay did not extend to FSS.[24] Specifically, the plaintiff’s argued that Judge Lopez had already clarified FSS was only within Jones’ automatic stay to auction FSS’s assets. But, because the final bid for FSS was rejected, the supplemental dismissal order stating that FSS was within Jones’ debtor estate was subsequently voided.[25] The court agreed. On October 1, 2025, the court held that it retained jurisdiction to interpret its prior orders and that a debtor’s stock ownership does not extend the stay’s protection to a subsidiary’s assets or make them part of the bankruptcy estate.[26] Jones, however, may still ultimately escape with complete ownership of FSS.[27]
Although the Onion was intent on purchasing FSS in 2024, Judge Lopez ultimately denied the purchase due to the Onion’s failure of transparency during the auction process and to maximize FSS value.[28] While the court claims to be intent on an equitable conclusion, as Murray noted, FSS may be abandoned due to the lack of realistic purchasers.[29] In fact, on October 3rd, 2025, Murray officially provided notice of his intent to abandon FSS due to its lack of value to the Chapter 7 estate.[30] The plaintiffs disagree.[31] Not only do they believe abandoning FSS after a year is premature, but the plaintiffs are also in the process of developing their own bid for FSS.[32]
Overall, Jones’ use of the bankruptcy system appears to be primarily designed to delay disclosures and circumvent creditor protections.[33] Nonetheless, his strategy has been mostly unsuccessful. Jones’ likely outcome is that he will remain liable, and the Sandy Hook families will continue pursuing what they are owed despite his bankruptcy mischief.[34] Oddly enough, while it is unlikely that Jones will voluntarily satisfy his obligations to the Sandy Hook families, there remains a possibility that the court itself could help Jones retain control of FSS. As noted by the plaintiffs, “Jones has proven time and time again that he will seek to delay and prolong this case to prevent … the Sandy Hook families from collecting on their over one billion dollars’ worth of judgments against him.”[35] Indeed, if the court decides to support Murray’s desire to abandon FSS, FSS would be relinquished back to Jones further cementing the plaintiff’s frustration in collecting FSS’s assets. While there is likely a lack of interest to purchase FSS, Jones’ use of the legal process highlights how entities and individuals are often able to limit liability by abusing the bankruptcy process.[36] Indeed, if ownership of FSS is reverted back to Jones, Jones could foreseeably successfully file Chapter 11 bankruptcy for FSS or, at minimum, continue to “forestall any progress” since Jones’ initial judgement in 2021.[37]
[1] Helen Coster, US news consumers are turning to podcaster Joe Rogan and away from traditional sources, report shows, Reuters (June 16, 2025), https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-news-consumers-are-turning-podcaster-joe-rogan-away-traditional-sources-2025-06-16/.
[2] Bill Chappell, Alex Jones Found Liable for Defamation in Sandy Hook ‘Hoax’ Case, NPR (Nov. 15, 2021), https://www.npr.org/2021/11/15/1055864452/alex-jones-found-liable-for-defamation-in-sandy-hook-hoax-case; Emma Mae Czachor, Alex Jones Ordered to Pay Nearly $50 Million to Sandy Hook Parents for Defamation, CBS News (Aug. 5, 2022), https://www.cbsnews.com/news/alex-jones-defamation-trial-sandy-hook-shooting-jury-orders-victim-parents-neil-heslin-scarlett-lewis/.
[3] Id.
[4] Id.
[5] Pamela Foohey & Christopher K. Odinet, Silencing Litigation Through Bankruptcy, 109 Va. L. Rev. 1261, 1308-12 (2023); Vince Sullivan, Alex Jones Ch. 7 Stay Doesn’t Protect Co. Assets, Judge Says, Law360 (Oct. 1, 2025), https://www.law360.com/media/articles/2395064/alex-jones-ch-7-stay-doesn-t-protect-co-assets-judge-says.
[6] Sullivan, supra note 5.
[7] Id.; In re Alexander E. Jones, No. 22-33553 at 2-3 (Bankr. S.D. Tex. Sept. 26, 2025) (Emergency Joint Motion of the Sandy Hook Families for Entry of an Order Confirming that FSS Assets Are Not Subject to the Automatic Stay).
[8] Sullivan, supra note 5.
[9] 3 The Law and Regulation of Financial Institutions § 23.02 (2025).
[10] 11 USCS § 1306; 11 USCS § 1115
[11] H.R. Rep. No. 595, 95th Cong., 1st Sess. 220 (1977), (reprinted in Vol. C Collier on Bankruptcy, App. Pt. 4(d)(i) (Matthew Bender 16th ed.); S. Rep. No. 989, 95th Cong., 2d Sess. 10 (1978), (reprinted in Vol. D Collier on Bankruptcy, App. Pt. 4(e)(i) (Matthew Bender 16th ed.).
[12] 3 The Law and Regulation of Financial Institutions § 23.02 (2025).
[13] 11 U.S.C.S. § 522
[14] 11 U.S.C.S. § 554
[15] Shannon Bond, How Alex Jones Helped Mainstream Conspiracy Theories Into American Life, NPR (Aug. 6, 2022), https://www.npr.org/2022/08/06/1115936712/how-alex-jones-helped-mainstream-conspiracy-theories-into-american-life.
[16]Id; See also Nick Lutsko, Alex Jones Rants as an Indie Folk Song, YouTube (Feb. 23, 2022), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGAAhzreGWw (Alex Jones’ examples of disinformation as a folk song).
[17] Father of 6-year-old killed in Sandy Hook shooting testifies in defamation case against Alex Jones, CBS News (Aug. 2, 2022), https://www.cbsnews.com/news/alex-jones-sandy-hook-defamation-trial-testimony/.
[18] Chappell, supra note 2; Czachor, supra note 2.
[19]Michael R. Sisak, Alex Jones’ $49.3 M Verdict and the Future of Misinformation, AP News (Aug. 6, 2022), https://apnews.com/article/covid-health-shootings-violence-7afca66904f889c1420a8187dd6d887d; Lafferty v. Jones, 336 Conn. 332, (2020); Rae Ann Varona, Sandy Hook Families Oppose Reverting Equity to Alex Jones, Law360 (Oct. 20, 2025), https://www.law360.com/bankruptcy-authority/mid-cap/articles/2401702/sandy-hook-families-oppose-reverting-equity-to-alex-jones (SCOTUS has again denied certiorari for Jones’ Connecticut default judgement).
[20] Steven Church, Infowars Bankruptcy May Be ‘Abuse’ of Court Rules, DOJ Warns, Bloomberg L. (Apr. 22, 2022), https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-04-21/infowars-bankruptcy-may-be-abuse-of-federal-court-doj-warns?embedded-checkout=true.
[21] Id.
[22]11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(6); In re Alexander E. Jones, No. 22-33553 at 7 (Bankr. S.D. Tex. Sept. 26, 2025) (Emergency Joint Motion of the Sandy Hook Families for Entry of an Order Confirming that FSS Assets Are Not Subject to the Automatic Stay).
[23] In re Alexander E. Jones, No. 22-33553 at 2-3 (Bankr. S.D. Tex. Sept. 26, 2025) (Emergency Joint Motion of the Sandy Hook Families for Entry of an Order Confirming that FSS Assets Are Not Subject to the Automatic Stay); Sullivan, supra note 5.
[24] Id.
[25] Id at 4.
[26] Sullivan, supra note 5; In re Alexander E. Jones, No. 22-33553, (Bankr. S.D. Tex. Oct. 1, 2025) (Order Confirming that FSS Assets Are Not Subject to the Automatic Stay); Kreisler v. Goldberg, 478 F.3d 209 (4th Cir. 2007); Equity Broad. Corp. v. Shubert, 284 B.R. 40, 51 (Bankr. D. Del. 2002); Travelers Indem. Co. v. Bailey, 557 U.S. 137 (2009)
[27] Rae Ann Varona, Sandy Hook Families Oppose Reverting Equity to Alex Jones, Law360 (Oct. 20, 2025), https://www.law360.com/bankruptcy-authority/mid-cap/articles/2401702/sandy-hook-families-oppose-reverting-equity-to-alex-jones.
[28] Emily Lever, Judge Kills Infowars Sale, BigLaw Firms Duck Suit, Law360 (Dec. 16, 2024), https://www.law360.com/bankruptcy-authority/articles/2274682/judge-kills-infowars-sale-biglaw-firms-duck-suit.
[29] Id.
[30] Varona, supra note 27.
[31] Lever, supra note 28.
[32] Id.
[33] Church, supra note 20.
[34] Foohey & Odinet, supra note 5.
[35] Varona, supra note 27.
[36] Church, supra note 20.
[37] Varona, supra note 27; Foohey & Odinet, supra note 5; 109 Va. L. Rev. 1261, 1308-12 (2023) (arguing Jones likely would have had increased success in avoiding total liability through better representation).