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

NEWTOWN — A federal bankruptcy decide has released extremist Alex Jones from Chapter 11 protection and sent his defamation circumstances again to state court docket in Texas, the place the dad and mom of two boys slain in the Sandy Hook massacre await jury trials to see how much Jones should pay them.

“(We) are relieved however not stunned that Mr. Jones’ newest stunt has failed like all the others,” said Mark Bankston, an lawyer representing four parents who gained two defamation instances towards Jones in Texas final year. “Mr. Jones will now be held to account in a Travis County courtroom within the coming weeks, and these households 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 safety one week earlier than a jury trial was to begin to find out what damages Jones owed two dad and mom he defamed when he referred to as the worst crime in Connecticut history “staged,” “artificial,” “manufactured,” “a giant hoax,” and “completely fake with actors.”

The chapter choose’s ruling means the first postponed defamation awards trial in Texas might start as soon as June, Bankston instructed.

Among the many disclosures that came out of the chapter court docket hearings is that Jones has suffered financially as the Sandy Hook defamation instances have progressed. Jones has spent a minimum of $10 million on authorized fees and has lost at the very least $20 million, his representatives stated in court. Jones didn't file for chapter protection himself, his representative stated in court docket, because he feared it would damage his model within the conspiracy theory market.

In the meantime in Connecticut, the place an FBI agent and eight families who misplaced family members within the bloodbath of 26 first-graders and educators at Sandy Hook Elementary Faculty also gained a defamation case towards Jones in 2021, a hearing was planned in Connecticut bankruptcy court on Tuesday that's anticipated to end in a similar outcome because the Texas cases.

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

Jones’ Chapter 11 submitting put on hold the 2 trials in Texas and the third planned in Connecticut, since federal court docket trumps state proceedings. Legal professionals for households here and in Texas fought Jones’ Chapter 11 petitions as “dangerous faith” filings, since Jones himself and his money-making Free Speech methods didn't file for chapter. The three Jones-controlled entities that sought Chapter 11 protection have a mixed month-to-month earnings of $38,000 while Jones himself made at the least $76 million in 2019, his representatives mentioned in court docket.

In response, the families dropped Jones’ three business entities in chapter from their lawsuits. Because the families no longer had a stake within the bankruptcies, they argued, their lawsuits against Jones and Free Speech methods might be launched back to the state courts for trial. The households argued that their goal was Jones himself and Free Speech Techniques, who weren't celebration to the bankruptcies.

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

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

rryser@newstimes.com 203-731-3342