Alex Jones's InfoWars website files for bankruptcy

Conspiracist found liable in multiple lawsuits for claiming 2012 Sandy Hook shooting was a hoax

InfoWars, the website founded by conspiracist Alex Jones, filed for bankruptcy in a US court. AP

InfoWars, the right-wing website founded by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, has filed for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy in a US court amid multiple defamation lawsuits.

In the court filing, Infowars said it had estimated assets of $50,000 or less and estimated liabilities of $1 million to $10m.

Sunday's bankruptcy filing in Texas puts civil litigation on hold while the business reorganises its finances.

Jones lost a string of lawsuits last year for claiming that the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was a hoax.

The broadcaster claimed the shooting that resulted in the deaths of 20 children and six teachers was fabricated by the US government to take away people's guns. He also falsely claimed bereaved family members were paid actors.

Six families of victims filed a lawsuit against him in 2018, alleging he made millions of dollars while pushing a narrative he knew was false.

Jones has since conceded that the shooting did happen.

“Alex Jones is just delaying the inevitable: a public trial in which he will be held accountable for his profit-driven campaign of lies against the Sandy Hook families who have brought this lawsuit,” Christopher Mattei, who represents the families in a Connecticut lawsuit against Jones, told the Associated Press.

Sandy Hook families rejected a settlement offer from Jones in late March and reopened the case. He offered to pay $120,000 to each of the 13 plaintiffs to settle the case.

Each of the plaintiffs turned down the settlement offer in court documents, saying: “The so-called offer is a transparent and desperate attempt by Alex Jones to escape a public reckoning under oath with his deceitful, profit-driven campaign against the plaintiffs and the memory of their loved ones lost at Sandy Hook.”

Jones was fined $75,000 last month for failing to appear for a defamation on Texas but a judge last week ordered the money to be recouped because Jones eventually showed up.

Another lawsuit has accused Jones of hiding millions of dollars after Sandy Hook families took him to court. He is accused of drawing $18m from InfoWars beginning in 2018, when the defamation lawsuits were first filed.

Agencies contributed to this report.