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Judge Rejects The Onion's $7M Infowars Bid Over Flawed Auction and Sandy Hook Families' Interests

Dec 11, 2024, 06:10 AM

A federal bankruptcy judge has rejected The Onion's $7 million bid to acquire Infowars, the media platform founded by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. Judge Christopher Lopez ruled that the auction process was flawed and lacked transparency, leaving 'a lot of money on the table' for the creditors, including the families of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims to whom Jones owes $1.5 billion. The Onion's offer, made through its parent company Global Tetrahedron, included $1.75 million in cash and $5.25 million from the Sandy Hook families using funds from their defamation judgment. The Onion had planned to evict Jones and relaunch Infowars as a parody in January. The ruling allows Alex Jones to continue operating Infowars from its Austin, Texas headquarters for now. Jones celebrated the decision, calling the auction 'ridiculous' and 'fraudulent,' and accused the process of being 'fraught with illegal collusion.'