What’s Next Infowars | CNN business

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Alex Jones’ control of Infowars has lived to see another day, even as the long-term future of the site known for peddling conspiracy theories has been called into question after a bankruptcy judge blocked the results of a recent auction of the company’s assets.

The judge blocked the winning bid by satirical media outlet The Onion for Free Speech Systems, owned by parent company Infowars, which found problems with how the auction was conducted. saying he could give a higher price. The company is being sold as part of a defamation settlement after Jones called the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre a hoax.

In the case, Judge Christopher Lopez said Tuesday night that the auction sealed offer, best and last, instead of execution a live auction A more open format could have fetched a higher price, Lopez said, adding that the auction itself was conducted in good faith and that the identity of the winner was not an issue.

Jones testified Tuesday night that “the judge was doing the right thing” in what he said was “the most ridiculous auction fraud ever known in the history of man.”

But Jones’ grip may not last much longer. Lopez ordered the court-appointed administrator to return within 30 days with a new plan.

As for the future of Infowars, Jones still owes more than $1 billion to the families of the victims of the Sandy Hook massacre.

The court-appointed trustee, Christopher Murray, had broad discretion to manage the auction and select a winner based on his judgment. After initially organizing a two-round bidding process, with written bids followed by a live bid round for the Infowars assets, Murray changed the process, asking for sealed, best and final bids in the second round.

The onion was a special offer. In addition to the $1.75 million in cash, the company was matched with some of the Sandy Hook families, who agreed to give up. comes out of to help promote the auction bid. This brings the total value of the offer to 7 million dollars. Their plans for Infowars include teaming up with Everytown for Gun Safety as an exclusive advertiser.

The only other bid was from a company affiliated with Jones, First United American Companies, which offered $3.5 million.

When The Onion was named the winner, Jones and First United filed suit.

In his ruling, Lopez said he believed the bids were too low and that Murray could have gotten a higher price if he had held an open bidding round, where potential buyers could see other people’s bids and adjust their response.

“You have to dig and claw and get everything you can (for creditors),” he said.

Matt Ferris, a Texas bankruptcy attorney and partner at Haynes and Boone, said in an interview that this case was “atypical” and “much more litigious.”

“It is not usual to see the auction process being contested behind the scenes. It’s unusual to see a judge find trouble, unless it’s something out of order that happened,” Ferris said.

But Ferris said that although he has paid a lot of attention to the process, the judge is also “examining the basis of the amount of those two offers, and thinking that the dollar amount for the recovery of creditors is simply not there, and that the parties want to return to the negotiating table to try to increase that amount”.

Infowars may continue to operate and broadcast its shows and publish its content as it has been.

Lopez gave Murray 30 days to take next steps. There may be another round of bidding.

On Tuesday afternoon, Lopez indicated that several options are on the table, including Murray “abandoning” the sale attempts, which would allow the families to “pursue their remedies” in state court.

Jones has yet to start paying the family.

In such bankruptcy cases, there is a balance between how much it costs to dispose of the assets and the value of the assets, Ferris said.

“If at some point the value of those assets is offset by the cost of running the process, then it doesn’t make sense to go forward,” Ferris said.

For his part, The Onion said will continue to search for a purchase.

“We are deeply disappointed by today’s decision, but The Onion will continue to seek a resolution that will help the families of Sandy Hook receive a positive outcome from the horrors they endured,” CEO Ben Collins said in a statement. “We will continue to look for a way to buy InfoWars in the coming weeks. Making the Internet better and more fun is part of our broader mission, regardless of the outcome of this case.”

This Saturday marks the 12th anniversary of the attack that claimed the lives of 20 primary school students and six teachers.