On Thursday, The Onion announced that they had won the auction for Infowars and its assets, which include Jones’s production studio, social media accounts, and customer lists, as well as his supplement business.
The CEO of The Onion’s parent company, Global Tetrahedron, said that they planned to turn the site into a parody of itself that makes fun of “weird internet personalities.”
However, the judge in the case has apparently put a temporary halt to the sale after learning that the bankruptcy trustee did not accept the highest bid they received and instead went with The Onion’s bid, likely because they did not want Jones to somehow regain control via a potential alliance with the true highest bidder.
The real highest bidder was reportedly First American United Companies, a business that is affiliated with Jones’s supplements, who are believed to have offered $3.5 million for the site. They have asked Houston U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez to disqualify The Onion’s bid and declare themselves the winner.
They maintain that the bankruptcy trustee did not follow proper procedure with the auction by providing The Onion with credit for backing the Sandy Hook victims’ families. The families said they were willing to forgo some of the payment in order to give The Onion’s bid a better chance and prevent conservatives from maintaining control over Infowars.
Their objection stated: "Its effect is to depress and lower the amount the Onion would need to bid in cash to ensure that it was the winning bid. This was not simply collaboration, this was outright collusive bid rigging."
The Onion’s winning bid included just $1.75 million in cash.
Judge Lopez said in a court hearing that he had some questions about the transparency of the auction and announced that an additional hearing to clarify some points would be scheduled to determine whether the sale should ultimately be approved.
Shortly after the sale was announced, Infowars was closed down briefly before coming back online.
The auction was part of a court order against Jones filed by the families of students and staff members killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting that forced him to auction his assets as part of a $1.5 billion judgment for defamation.
Jones credits Elon Musk with helping pause the sale
Jones has also credited Elon Musk for putting a pause on the sale. He said that attorneys for X filed a notice of appearance in the bankruptcy case, indicating that they wish to become an interested party in the case and, by extension, receive all of the case’s relevant documentation.
Jones said the move was part of Musk’s defense of free speech, saying in a broadcast on X on Sunday night: “Elon Musk understands these basic fundamentals that more people need to understand.”
Infowars host Harrison Smith explained Musk’s motivation in a video on X, noting: “Apparently, Trump is involved, Elon Musk's lawyers were at the hearing yesterday because it has to do with them trying to take Alex Jones' name and his personal Twitter account, so Elon is invested in it because it will set a precedent for using lawfare to force X to sign over their personal accounts.”
Jones has said in the past that he is prepared to move his daily broadcasts to a new studio, website and social media account that are already set up should his detractors win the auction for the site but added that he could remain on the same platforms if his supporters win the bidding.
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