The winning bid price for onion is alex jones The Infowars platform is under review by a federal bankruptcy judge after Mr. Jones and his attorney filed complaints about how the auctions were conducted.
The satirical news organization Announced as successful bidder An auction was held Thursday as part of Mr. Jones’ bankruptcy. Hours later, Infowars’ headquarters in Austin, Texas, and its website were shut down, with Jones broadcasting from a new studio he had set up before the bankruptcy auction. By Friday morning, Infowars and its website were back up and running for reasons that aren’t entirely clear.
At a hastily convened court hearing Thursday in Houston, Judge Christopher Lopez ordered another hearing next week. He wants to know what happened at the auction and how the bankruptcy trustee chose The Onion over the only other bidder, an affiliate of the Jones product sales website. I’m thinking.
The process for Mr. Jones’ case does not deviate much from the norm, as court hearings are typically held after a bankruptcy auction to determine winning and selling prices and to hear any challenges.
Here’s a look at the bankruptcy auction and what happens next.
Why was Infowars put up for auction?
jones He declared bankruptcy at the end of 2022. ordered to pay approximately $1.5 billion The family of the victim of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut has filed a defamation lawsuit for allegedly continuing to make phone calls. massacre A hoax aimed at strengthening gun control.
Jones’ supporters said they were among the relatives of 20 first-graders and six educators who were killed in the 2012 shooting. harassed and threatened them As a result of his lies. Jones later admitted that the shooting occurred. “It’s 100% authentic.”
As part of the bankruptcy, Jones’ personal assets and Infowars’ parent company, Jones-owned Free Speech Systems, were to be auctioned, with the proceeds going to the Sandy Hook family and Jones’ other creditors. .
How The Onion was named the winning bidder
The bankruptcy trustee overseeing the sale selected from sealed bids. He received two.
The trustee revealed in court Thursday that the $3.5 million offer came from First United American Companies, which is owned by Jones. The other, from the Onion, was lower but included an incentive for some members of the Sandy Hook family to give up some of the sale proceeds and give them to other Jones creditors. Trustee Christopher Murray said.
Murray said he found Onion’s offer to be unusual but better overall because it would provide more money to Jones’ creditors than other offers. But he also said he could not yet set a price on The Onion’s bid given the family’s offer.
Judge Lopez said he expected potential buyers would have an opportunity to compete against each other after the bids were unsealed.
But in September, he issued a 20-page order governing the sale process, making such bidding rounds optional. It gave Mr. Murray broad powers to carry out the sale, including the power to veto any bid, no matter how high, that was “contrary to the best interests” of Mr. Jones, his company and its creditors.
Infowars restarts after shutdown
Lawyers for the trustees said in court Thursday that Mr. Murray had the Infowars website and studio shut down on Thursday as he began the process of securing the assets. But by Friday, Infowars and its website were back up and running.
Jones told listeners on his show that Murray told him it was wrong to shut down Infowars before the sale was completed. Murray and his attorney did not immediately respond to calls and emails seeking comment.
What happens next in court?
The judge said he had concerns about the auction process and transparency. Both sides are expected to submit evidence at a hearing next week.
Mr. Jones and lawyers for First United American Companies argued that Mr. Murray improperly selected Onion’s bid, unexpectedly changing the sale process on Monday after a sealed bid was submitted, and on Wednesday It claims that it has decided not to make a bid. They also questioned the legality of The Onion’s bid.
Murray denied any wrongdoing and said he followed the judge’s auction rules.
Mr. Lopez will decide whether the trustees conducted the auction properly and selected The Onion as the winning bidder. If not, we may restart the sale and hold an auction where potential buyers compete against each other. The judge has the final authority to approve or deny the sale of Infowars.
The exact date of the hearing had not yet been scheduled by Friday afternoon.
What are The Onion’s plans for Infowars?
The Onion, which carries the banner “America’s Best News Source” on its masthead, was founded in the 1980s and has been skewering politics and pop culture for decades. We hope to relaunch the Infowars website in January as a parody Jones and other conspiracy theorists.
“Our goal in the next few years is for people to think Infowars is the funniest, silliest website there is,” Onion CEO Ben Collins told The Associated Press. . “It used to be the stupidest website in existence.”
