Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims’ families have put forward a proposal in court that conspiracy theorist Alex Jones should conclude his bankruptcy proceedings by paying his creditors at least $85 million over a period of 10 years or go through a structured liquidation.
The families of the Sandy Hook victims, along with an official committee of Jones’ creditors, argued in court documents on Wednesday that the bankruptcy case of the right-wing radio host, which has been ongoing for 11 months, should be wrapped up by February. The creditors presented a two-pronged proposal citing Jones’ failure to come up with a viable solution to exit Chapter 11, all while maintaining a lavish lifestyle costing up to $90,000 a month.
As outlined to the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, the plan would allow Jones to liquidate his assets in an orderly manner or adhere to a 10-year fixed-payment plan with annual distributions of at least $8.5 million. Under the fixed-payment plan, the creditors would agree to release their approximately $1.5 billion in state court judgment awards resulting from Jones’ false claims that the 2012 school massacre was a hoax.
Both options consider the preservation of legal actions against third parties associated with Jones and his Infowars program.
“The time has come for Jones to choose whether he is willing to pay his creditors a reasonable portion of what they are owed or would prefer to remain embroiled in costly and time-consuming litigation for years to come,” the group stated. “Whatever alternative Jones chooses, the Creditors’ Plan provides a clear path out of the quagmire of these cases.”
Jones’ attorneys, in a filing on November 21, acknowledged the forthcoming creditor plan proposal and requested to schedule a status conference for November 27 to discuss the next steps. They indicated that it’s time to conclude the case and are working on submitting their own draft plan by mid-December.
An attorney for Jones did not immediately respond to a request for comment on this matter.
The Sandy Hook families gained significant leverage in the bankruptcy case following a ruling by Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez last month, which determined that around $1.1 billion in defamation awards were not dischargeable due to intentional and malicious behavior by Jones.
Jones filed for bankruptcy in December 2022, five months after the parent company of his Infowars show, Free Speech Systems LLC, sought Chapter 11 relief.
The case is In re Alexander E. Jones, Bankr. S.D. Tex., No. 22-33553, statement 11/22/23.