Texas judge orders transfer of Alex Jones' Infowars assets to court-appointed receiver

AUSTIN (CN) — A state court judge in Texas has ordered conspiracy theorist Alex Jones to turn over all assets related to the parent company of his Infowars brand to a court-appointed receiver.

Judge Maya Guerra Gamble’s order Wednesday evening comes after three years of back-and-forth in state and federal courts, and marks the largest development since the failed bid by satirical news outlet The Onion to purchase Infowars last fall.

Jones and his parent company, Free Speech Systems, filed for federal bankruptcy in 2022 after two courts ordered Jones to pay a combined $1.5 billion to the parents of the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting victims for his repeated false claims about them and their children.

Hopes for the sale of Jones’ Infowars assets and broadcast rights reached their peak last November, when satirical news outlet The Onion emerged as an unexpected bidder at a federal bankruptcy auction. But in December, U.S. District Judge Christopher Lopez dismissed the paper’s joint bid with the Connecticut families, along with a second bid more favorable to Jones, and sent the bankruptcy trustee back to the drawing board.

Guerra’s order marks the first major development since then, and comes from a parallel state court suit filed by the two Texas parents who won the smaller defamation judgment against Jones.

Guerra found that Jones is liable for $1.3 billion of the damages from the defamation suits. She ordered Jones within five days to turn over all assets of Free Speech Systems and related documents to Gregory Milligan of HMP Advisory Holdings LLC, a Texas company.

Whether this court-ordered sale will go through remains to be seen. Jones has appealed several state and federal judges’ decisions throughout the three-year saga and is likely to appeal this order.

Some observers online have found renewed optimism. Ben Collins, CEO of The Onion, posted on Bluesky late Wednesday night that “We’re working on it. That’s all I can say for now. Subscribe to The Onion.”

Courthouse News has requested comments from Jones’ attorneys, attorneys for the Texas and Connecticut families, HMP Advisory Holdings, and the Chapter 7 trustee in Jones’ federal bankruptcy case, Christopher Murray.