Judge Halts Sale of Alex Jones’ Infowars to The Onion During Bankruptcy Auction Conflict – One America News Network
OAN Staff James Meyers
8:05 AM – Wednesday, December 11, 2024
On Tuesday night, a federal judge denied the transfer of Alex Jones’ Infowars platform to the satirical news organization The Onion, following Jones’s assertion that the recent bankruptcy auction was marked by illegal collusion.
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The Onion emerged as the leading bidder on November 14th, outbidding a company linked to Jones.
The ruling from U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez allows Jones to maintain his presence at Infowars in Austin, Texas. The Onion had intended to oust Jones and reboot Infowars as a parody in January.
During a comprehensive two-day hearing in Texas, Judge Lopez criticized the auction for being flawed, noting that it “left a lot of money on the table” for families affected by the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
“You have to scratch and claw and obtain everything possible for them,” remarked Lopez.
The Onion had proposed $1.75 million in cash along with additional incentives for Infowars‘ assets at the auction, whereas First United American Companies, which operates a website in Jones’ name selling nutritional supplements, made a bid of $3.5 million.
Lopez indicated issues were present, though no wrongdoing was identified in the auction process. He chose not to call for another auction and left the decision on the next steps to the trustee overseeing the auction.
Trustee Christopher Murray defended The Onion’s bid during the hearing.
“Only two bidders participated, and… one was simply superior to the other,” Murray testified, referring to The Onion. When asked how much better, he replied “by a lot.”
Despite the satirical outlet’s lower cash offer compared to First United American, it included a commitment from several Sandy Hook families to relinquish $750,000 of the auction proceeds owed to them, distributing the funds to other creditors, thus providing them with a greater share than they would see under First United American’s proposal.
Following their selection as the winning bidder last month, CEO Bell Collins of The Onion shared the company’s future vision for Infowars on social media.
“Our goal is to transform it into a humorous and nonsensical website. We have enlisted some of the finest from Onion and Clickhole Hall of Fame to realize this vision. I’m eager to unveil our plans,” he stated.
Furthermore, The Onion announced that its “exclusive launch advertiser” would be the gun violence prevention group Everytown for Gun Safety.
In a satirical piece published by The Onion, the fictitious CEO of Global Tetrahedron, its parent company, stated that “the acquisition of InfoWars was a straightforward decision for the Global Tetrahedron executive board.”
“Founded in 1999 amid the Satanic ‘panic’ and expanding ever since, InfoWars has established itself as an essential asset for brainwashing and controlling the public,” wrote the faux Global Tetrahedron CEO Bryce P. Tetraeder. “No investment would be too significant for such a treasure trove of malleable assets and minds.”
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