InfoWars fate goes before Texas judge Tuesday

A Texas judge who listened to six hours of testimony Monday could decide Tuesday whether to allow satirical media outlet The Onion to acquire Alex Jones’s Infowars conspiracy theory network.

Jones was forced to put Infowars on the auction block last month to repay debts including the settlement of a nearly $1.5 billion defamation lawsuit with the families of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims he accused of faking the 2012 massacre in Connecticut. He alleged the plaintiffs were party to a gun-control conspiracy effort. Jones has since admitted the shooting that left 20 children and six adults dead was real.

The Onion, which worked out a deal with the plaintiffs in that case, bid $1.75 million to acquire Infowars assets. The comedy outlet would likely use Jones’s websites and social media accounts to parody the conspiratorial right-wing disinformation world.

First United American Companies, which is friendly with Jones, bid $3.5 million for the Infowars brand. Their acquisition of the property could allow Jones to continue broadcasting to his audience under new ownership.

A trustee appointed to handle the money, however, preferred The Onion’s bid because he thought it was more likely to satisfy Jones’s creditors.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez in Houston is overseeing the challenge to that decision.

With News Wire Services