Alex Jones files for bankruptcy following US$1.5 billion Sandy Hook verdicts

The US conspiracy theorist and the parent company for his Infowars website are on the hook for damages after spreading lies about the 2012 mass shooting

Jones claimed for years that the killing of 26 students and staff at the school was staged with actors in a government plot to seize Americans’ guns

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Infowars founder Alex Jones speaks to the media after appearing at his Sandy Hook defamation trial in Waterbury, Connecticut, in October. Photo: Reuters

Published: 4:26am, 3 Dec 2022Updated: 4:40am, 3 Dec 2022

Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones filed for bankruptcy on Friday, after he and the parent of his Infowars website were ordered to pay about US$1.5 billion for spreading lies about the 2012 Sandy Hook mass shooting.

Jones filed for Chapter 11 protection from creditors with the US bankruptcy court in Houston, a court filing showed.

The filing said Jones has between US$1 million and US$10 million of assets and between US$1 billion and US$10 billion of liabilities. The extent of Jones’ personal wealth is unclear.

Jones claimed for years that the 2012 killing of 20 students and six staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, was staged with actors as part of a government plot to seize Americans’ guns. He has since acknowledged the shooting occurred, but plaintiffs said Jones cashed in for years off his lies about the massacre.

Plaintiffs Robbie Parker and Nicole Hockley hug following the jury verdict and reading of monetary damages in the Alex Jones defamation trial in Waterbury, Connecticut, in October. Photo: Reuters

“Like every other cowardly move Alex Jones has made, this bankruptcy will not work,” said Chris Mattei, a lawyer representing Sandy Hook families. “The American judicial system will hold Alex Jones accountable, and we will never stop working to enforce the jury’s verdict.”