Alex Jones back on the hook for damages after chapter decide sends Sandy Hook instances to Texas court docket

NEWTOWN — A federal bankruptcy judge has launched extremist Alex Jones from Chapter 11 safety and sent his defamation cases again to state courtroom in Texas, where the dad and mom of two boys slain within the Sandy Hook massacre await jury trials to see how a lot Jones will have to pay them.

“(We) are relieved however not shocked that Mr. Jones’ latest stunt has failed like all the others,” mentioned Mark Bankston, an attorney representing 4 dad and mom who won two defamation circumstances in opposition to Jones in Texas final yr. “Mr. Jones will now be held to account in a Travis County courtroom within the coming weeks, and these families will lastly have the closure and recompense they deserve.”

Bankston was referring to a month-long saga in Texas bankruptcy court docket where three Jones-controlled entities filed for Chapter 11 protection one week before a jury trial was to start to determine what damages Jones owed two parents he defamed when he called the worst crime in Connecticut historical past “staged,” “synthetic,” “manufactured,” “a giant hoax,” and “completely fake with actors.”

The bankruptcy choose’s ruling means the primary postponed defamation awards trial in Texas could begin as quickly as June, Bankston recommended.

Among the many disclosures that came out of the bankruptcy courtroom hearings is that Jones has suffered financially as the Sandy Hook defamation circumstances have progressed. Jones has spent at the least $10 million on authorized fees and has misplaced no less than $20 million, his representatives stated in court. Jones didn't file for bankruptcy safety himself, his consultant stated in court, because he feared it will damage his brand within the conspiracy idea market.

In the meantime in Connecticut, where an FBI agent and eight households who misplaced loved ones in the massacre of 26 first-graders and educators at Sandy Hook Elementary Faculty additionally received a defamation case in opposition to Jones in 2021, a listening to was planned in Connecticut bankruptcy court on Tuesday that is expected to lead to the same end result as the Texas circumstances.

The explanation has to do with a maneuver the Sandy Hook households took here and in Texas to outflank Jones in bankruptcy court docket.

Jones’ Chapter 11 submitting put on maintain the two trials in Texas and the third planned in Connecticut, since federal court trumps state proceedings. Attorneys for households here and in Texas fought Jones’ Chapter 11 petitions as “bad religion” filings, since Jones himself and his money-making Free Speech systems didn't file for bankruptcy. The three Jones-controlled entities that sought Chapter 11 safety have a combined monthly revenue of $38,000 while Jones himself made a minimum of $76 million in 2019, his representatives stated in court docket.

In response, the families dropped Jones’ three business entities in bankruptcy from their lawsuits. Because the families not had a stake within the bankruptcies, they argued, their lawsuits towards Jones and Free Speech techniques may very well be launched back to the state courts for trial. The families argued that their target was Jones himself and Free Speech Methods, who weren't occasion to the bankruptcies.

In rulings on Thursday and Friday, the federal bankruptcy court in Texas agreed.

It remains to be seen whether or not Connecticut bankruptcy courtroom will rule similarly. The trial to award defamation damages to the Sandy Hook families in Connecticut had been scheduled for August.

rryser@newstimes.com 203-731-3342