On October 20, 2023, a Texas judge ruled that Alex Jones cannot use bankruptcy protection to avoid paying nearly $1.1 billion to families who sued him for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress after he repeatedly claimed that the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was a hoax.
The ruling is a major victory for the Sandy Hook families, who have been fighting for justice for years. Jones, the host of the far-right conspiracy theory website Infowars, has repeatedly claimed that the Sandy Hook shooting was a "hoax" and a "false flag" operation perpetrated by the government. He has also accused the families of the victims of being actors.
In 2018, several Sandy Hook families filed lawsuits against Jones for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Jones was found liable in all of the cases, and in 2022, he was ordered to pay nearly $1.1 billion in damages to the families.
Jones subsequently filed for bankruptcy protection in an attempt to avoid paying the damages. However, the judge in the bankruptcy case ruled that Jones's bankruptcy filing was in bad faith and that he could not use bankruptcy to avoid paying the damages to the Sandy Hook families.
The judge's ruling is a significant setback for Jones, who has been facing mounting legal and financial problems in recent years. In addition to the damages awards to the Sandy Hook families, Jones is also facing a defamation lawsuit from the parents of a child who was killed in the Parkland school shooting.
The judge's ruling is also a victory for the families of the Sandy Hook victims, who have been fighting for years to hold Jones accountable for his lies and hate speech. The ruling sends a clear message that there are consequences for spreading lies and misinformation, especially when those lies cause harm to others.