Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones' Infowars broadcasts could end next week as he faces a court-ordered auction of his company's assets to help pay the more than $1 billion defamation judgment he owes families of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
Or maybe not.
Both opponents and supporters of the bombastic internet show and radio host have expressed interest in bidding on the Infowars properties he has built over the past 25 years. They include Roger Stone, an ally of Jones and Donald Trump, and anti-Jones progressive media groups. If Jones supporters buy the assets, he could end up staying on Infowars.
Up for sale are everything from Jones' studio desk to Infowars' name, video archive, social media accounts and product trademarks. Buyers can even purchase an armored truck and video cameras. For now, Jones' personal social media, including his account on X, formerly known as Twitter, with 3 million followers, are not up for sale, but court proceedings on whether they should be auctioned are pending.
The auctions resulted from Jones’ personal bankruptcy case, which he filed in late 2022 after the Sandy Hook families were awarded nearly $1.5 billion in damages in lawsuits in Connecticut and Texas over his claims that the school shooting was a hoax. Many of Jones’ personal assets also are being liquidated to help pay the judgment.
The deadline to submit bids and nondisclosure agreements on the Infowars assets is Friday afternoon. After the bids are reviewed, prospective buyers deemed qualified will be invited to a live auction that could see multiple bidding rounds next Wednesday. Any items not sold will be put up at another auction on Dec. 10.
Jones has expressed confidence that supporters — whom he did not name — will buy the assets of Infowars and its parent company, Free Speech Systems, allowing him to continue using its platforms. He also appears to be preparing for losing the brand because he has set up new websites and social media accounts and has been directing his audience to them.
“There’s a lot of buyers, people that are patriots that want it and will come in,” Jones said on his show in August. “If not ... we'll work with somebody else, fire something up. And it’ll be a little bit of a hiccup for the crew, and things. But that will just make us bigger.”
Email messages to Infowars and Jones' bankruptcy lawyer were not returned.
It’s not clear how much money the auctions might bring in. In court documents, Free Speech Systems listed the total value of its properties and holdings at $18 million. Proceeds from the sales will go to creditors including the Sandy Hook families, who have not yet received any money from Jones and his company.
Confidentiality agreements and sealed bids generally are used in auctions to maximize bid amounts while preventing bidders from talking to each other and driving down the offers. The trustee in Jones' bankruptcy case said in court documents that the procedures for the Infowars auction were designed to attract the highest possible bids.
Christopher Mattei, a Connecticut lawyer representing the Sandy Hook families, called the auctions an important milestone in their yearslong fight to hold Jones accountable. He also said the families will be seeking a portion of all Jones' future income.
“From the beginning, the Connecticut families have sought to hold Jones fully accountable for his lies and to protect other families from him,” Mattei said. “Stripping Jones of the corrupt business he used to attack the families while poisoning the minds of his listeners is an important measure of justice.”
The families sued Jones and his company for defamation and emotional distress for repeatedly saying on his show that the 2012 shooting that killed 20 first graders and six educators in Newtown, Connecticut, was a hoax staged by crisis actors to spur more gun control.
Parents and children of many of the victims testified that they were traumatized by Jones’ hoax conspiracies and threats by his followers.
Jones, who has since acknowledged that the shooting did happen, is appealing the judgments.
Jones has made millions of dollars from his internet and radio shows, primarily through sales of nutritional supplements, survival gear, clothing and other merchandise.
Stone, the Jones and Trump ally and a conservative commentator, said on his X account and on Jones' show that he would like to put together a group of investors to buy Infowars. He did not return email and social media messages on Thursday.
“I understand the importance of Infowars as a beacon of the truth, as a beacon of truthful information. And therefore, I would like to do whatever I possibly can to ensure, if possible, that Infowars survives," Stone said on Jones' show in September.
People on social media also have urged billionaire Elon Musk, owner of Tesla and X, to buy Infowars, an idea Jones has backed but Musk has not publicly responded to.
On the other side, Jones' detractors have shown interest in buying Infowars, kicking Jones out and turning it into something else, such as a news site that debunks conspiracy theories or even a parody site. They include officials at two progressive media sites, The Barbed Wire and Media Matters for America.
An opinion piece by The Barbed Wire in September by publisher Jeff Rotkoff had a headline that read, "Let’s Buy Infowars. Alex Jones used these exact materials to exploit his viewers, peddle conspiracy theories, and damage the lives of grieving parents. We want revenge.”
Rotkoff urged readers to donate money to help put in bids, but he said Thursday that The Barbed Wire, based in Jones' home state of Texas, was now unlikely to make any offers.
“But we have talked to a number of similarly ideologically aligned bidders and we are certain we will be outbid,” Rotkoff said in an email. “We’re thrilled that there appear to be multiple well-resourced bidders who share our interest in undoing much of the damage to our country done by Alex Jones. We’ll be rooting for those folks to be successful.”
He declined to say who the other potential bidders were.
Who exactly has submitted bids so far has not been disclosed. Jeff Tanenbaum, president of ThreeSixty Asset Advisors, which is helping to run the auction along with Tranzon Asset Advisors, would only say there have been a large number of inquiries.
If detractors buy up Infowars' properties and Jones gets the boot, he should be able to build new platforms fairly quickly, said Melissa Zimdars, an associate professor of communication and media at Merrimack College in Massachusetts.
“As long as there is an audience hungry for his content — and there is — he’ll be able to utilize X and various fringe social media platforms," she said in an email.
FILE - Bill Sherlach, husband of Mary, one of the Sandy Hook School shooting victims, speaks to the media after jurors returned a $965 million dollar judgement in the defamation trial against Alex Jones, in Waterbury, Conn., Oct. 12, 2022. (AP Photo/Bryan Woolston, File)
This undated photo provided by ThreeSixty Asset Advisors shows the Infowars set. (ThreeSixty Asset Advisors via AP)
AMSTERDAM (AP) — Attackers assaulted Israeli fans overnight after a soccer match in Amsterdam, leaving five people hospitalized, Dutch authorities said Friday. Dozens were arrested.
It was not clear how the violence began. Dutch and Israeli leaders denounced the attacks as antisemitic. Video showed Israeli fans chanting anti-Arab slogans in the streets before the game.
Peter Holla, the city’s acting police chief, told a news conference that the fans were “willfully attacked.” He said people on scooters staged “hit-and-run” attacks, making it difficult for police to track them down.
Israel’s foreign minister left urgently for the Netherlands. Israel initially ordered that two planes be sent to bring fans home, but later the prime minister’s office said it would work to help citizens arrange commercial flights.
Security concerns have shrouded matches with Israeli teams in multiple countries over the past year because of global tensions linked to the wars in the Middle East. Ahead of Thursday night’s Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv, Amsterdam authorities had banned a planned pro-Palestinian demonstration near the stadium.
Still, Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema told reporters Friday that the Dutch counterterror watchdog said there was no concrete threat to Israeli soccer fans before the game.
Authorities said extra police would patrol Amsterdam in coming days, and security will be beefed up at Jewish institutions in the city that has a large Jewish community and was home to Jewish World War II diarist Anne Frank and her family as they hid from Nazi occupiers.
Friction had been growing in the days before the match. Dutch broadcaster NOS reported that a Palestinian flag was ripped off a building in the center of the city on Wednesday.
Ahead of the game, video also showed large crowds of supporters of the Israeli team, Maccabi Tel Aviv, chanting anti-Arab slogans. “Let the IDF win, and (expletive) the Arabs,” the fans chanted, using the acronym of the Israeli military, as they shook their fists. Maccabi fans have used the same chant during recent matches in Israel. It also showed police pushing several pro-Palestinian protesters away from a Maccabi fan gathering in a square earlier in the day.
It was not immediately clear when and where violence erupted Thursday night.
The Dutch capital’s municipality, police and prosecution office said rioters “actively sought out Israeli supporters to attack and assault them in several parts of the city. “The police had to intervene several times, protect Israeli supporters and escort them to hotels.”
It called the violence antisemitic.
Ofek Ziv, a Maccabi fan from the Israeli city of Petah Tikva, said he and a friends were leaving the stadium after the match. Someone — he didn’t see who — threw a rock at him, hitting his head and causing bleeding. He said a group of Arab men began to chase him, before he and his friend quickly got into a taxi, picking up other fans. They took shelter at a hotel.
“I’m very scared, it’s very striking. This shouldn’t happen to anyone, specifically in Amsterdam. Lots of friends were hurt, injured, kidnapped, robbed, and the police didn’t come to help us,” he said.
The Amsterdam police said in a post on social media platform X that they have started a major investigation into multiple violent incidents. More than 60 people were detained, and 10 were still in custody on Friday, according to Amsterdam's public prosecutor, René de Beukelaer.
The Dutch prime minister, Dick Schoof, said, “This is simply antisemitic violence against Israelis,” calling the attacks “downright scandalous and reprehensible.”
After the overnight violence, Israel ordered two planes be sent to the Dutch capital to bring the Israelis home, but later the prime minister’s office said it would work on “providing civil aviation solutions for the return of our citizens.″
A statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said that “the harsh pictures of the assault on our citizens in Amsterdam will not be overlooked,” and that Netanyahu “views the horrifying incident with utmost gravity.” He demanded that the Dutch government take “vigorous and swift action” against those involved.
Netanyahu’s office added that he had called for increased security for the Jewish community in the Netherlands.
Security issues around hosting games against visiting Israeli teams led the Belgian soccer federation to decline to stage a men’s Nations League game in September. That game against Israel was played in Hungary with no fans in the stadium.
The violence in Amsterdam will no doubt lead to a review of security at upcoming matches involving Israeli teams. European soccer body UEFA announced already on Monday that Maccabi’s next Europa League match, scheduled in Istanbul on Nov. 28 against Turkish team Besiktas, would be moved to a yet-to-be-decided neutral venue “following a decision by the Turkish authorities.”
Meanwhile, Israel’s national team is scheduled to play France in Paris on Nov. 14 in the Nations League. French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said Thursday that the match would go ahead as planned at the Stade de France just outside the French capital after assurances from police.
“I think that for a symbolic reason we must not yield, we must not give up,” he said, noting that sports fans from around the world came together for the Paris Olympics this year to celebrate the “universal values” of sports.
“We will be uncompromising,” he added. “To touch a Jewish compatriot is to touch the republic.”
Amsterdam's Mayor Femke Halsema, centre, acting Amsterdam police chief Peter Holla, left, and head of the Amsterdam public prosecutor's office René de Beukelaer hold a news conference after Israeli fans and protesters clashed overnight after a soccer match, in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Friday Nov, 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Mike Corder)
In this image taken from video, police stand guard as Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters light flares at the Dam square, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo InterVision)
In this image taken from video, police escort Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters to the metro, after pro-Palestinian supporters marched near the soccer stadium, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo InterVision)
In this image taken from video, police detain a person next to the place where Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters gather ahead of the Europa League soccer match between their team and Ajax, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo InterVision)
In this image taken from video, pro-Palestinian supporters march with Palestinian flags near the Ajax stadium in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo InterVision)
In this image taken from video, police frisk pro-Palestinian supporters near the Ajax stadium in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo InterVision)
In this image taken from video, police detain a man near the Ajax stadium, after pro-Palestinian supporters marched despite a ban on pro-Palestinian demonstrations near the soccer stadium, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo InterVision)
In this image taken from video, police stand guard forming a line near the Ajax stadium, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo InterVision)
In this image taken from video, police escort Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters to the metro station leading them to the Ajax stadium, after pro-Palestinian supporters marched near the stadium, in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo InterVision)
