Alex Jones again on the hook for damages after chapter judge sends Sandy Hook circumstances to Texas courtroom

NEWTOWN — A federal bankruptcy choose has released extremist Alex Jones from Chapter 11 protection and sent his defamation instances back to state court docket in Texas, where the mother and father of two boys slain within the Sandy Hook bloodbath await jury trials to see how much Jones should pay them.

“(We) are relieved but not surprised that Mr. Jones’ newest stunt has failed like all the others,” stated Mark Bankston, an legal professional representing 4 parents who received two defamation cases against Jones in Texas final 12 months. “Mr. Jones will now be held to account in a Travis County courtroom in the coming weeks, and these families will lastly have the closure and recompense they deserve.”

Bankston was referring to a month-long saga in Texas chapter court docket where three Jones-controlled entities filed for Chapter 11 safety one week earlier than a jury trial was to start to determine what damages Jones owed two mother and father he defamed when he referred to as the worst crime in Connecticut history “staged,” “artificial,” “manufactured,” “a large hoax,” and “completely pretend with actors.”

The bankruptcy judge’s ruling means the first postponed defamation awards trial in Texas could begin as quickly as June, Bankston instructed.

Among the many disclosures that came out of the bankruptcy court hearings is that Jones has suffered financially as the Sandy Hook defamation instances have progressed. Jones has spent not less than $10 million on legal fees and has misplaced no less than $20 million, his representatives mentioned in court. Jones didn't file for chapter safety himself, his consultant mentioned in court docket, as a result of he feared it might harm his brand within the conspiracy idea market.

Meanwhile in Connecticut, where an FBI agent and eight households who misplaced loved ones within the bloodbath of 26 first-graders and educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School also received a defamation case in opposition to Jones in 2021, a listening to was planned in Connecticut chapter courtroom on Tuesday that is anticipated to lead to an identical end result because the Texas circumstances.

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

Jones’ Chapter 11 filing put on maintain the 2 trials in Texas and the third planned in Connecticut, since federal courtroom trumps state proceedings. Lawyers for households here and in Texas fought Jones’ Chapter 11 petitions as “bad faith” filings, since Jones himself and his money-making Free Speech systems did not file for bankruptcy. The three Jones-controlled entities that sought Chapter 11 safety have a mixed month-to-month income of $38,000 whereas Jones himself made not less than $76 million in 2019, his representatives stated in courtroom.

In response, the families dropped Jones’ three business entities in bankruptcy from their lawsuits. Because the households now not had a stake in the bankruptcies, they argued, their lawsuits against Jones and Free Speech techniques may very well be released again to the state courts for trial. The families argued that their target was Jones himself and Free Speech Methods, who weren't get together to the bankruptcies.

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

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

rryser@newstimes.com 203-731-3342