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

NEWTOWN — A federal chapter decide has released extremist Alex Jones from Chapter 11 protection and sent his defamation circumstances back to state court docket in Texas, where the dad and mom of two boys slain in the Sandy Hook massacre await jury trials to see how much Jones will have to pay them.

“(We) are relieved however not shocked that Mr. Jones’ newest stunt has failed like all the others,” said 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 within the coming weeks, and these households will finally 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 begin to determine what damages Jones owed two parents he defamed when he called the worst crime in Connecticut history “staged,” “artificial,” “manufactured,” “a giant hoax,” and “fully fake with actors.”

The chapter choose’s ruling means the first postponed defamation awards trial in Texas might begin as soon as June, Bankston prompt.

Among the many disclosures that got here out of the bankruptcy court docket hearings is that Jones has suffered financially because the Sandy Hook defamation instances have progressed. Jones has spent at least $10 million on authorized charges and has misplaced not less than $20 million, his representatives stated in courtroom. Jones didn't file for bankruptcy safety himself, his representative stated in courtroom, because he feared it would damage his brand within the conspiracy idea market.

In the meantime in Connecticut, where an FBI agent and eight households who lost family members within the bloodbath of 26 first-graders and educators at Sandy Hook Elementary Faculty also received a defamation case against Jones in 2021, a hearing was planned in Connecticut bankruptcy court docket on Tuesday that's anticipated to lead to an identical end result as the Texas circumstances.

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

Jones’ Chapter 11 submitting put on maintain the 2 trials in Texas and the third planned in Connecticut, since federal courtroom trumps state proceedings. Legal professionals for families here and in Texas fought Jones’ Chapter 11 petitions as “unhealthy faith” filings, since Jones himself and his money-making Free Speech methods didn't file for bankruptcy. The three Jones-controlled entities that sought Chapter 11 protection have a combined month-to-month earnings of $38,000 while Jones himself made not less than $76 million in 2019, his representatives mentioned in court docket.

In response, the households dropped Jones’ three enterprise entities in chapter from their lawsuits. As a result of the families no longer had a stake in the bankruptcies, they argued, their lawsuits against Jones and Free Speech programs could possibly be launched back to the state courts for trial. The families argued that their goal was Jones himself and Free Speech Programs, who weren't social gathering to the bankruptcies.

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

It stays to be seen whether or not Connecticut bankruptcy court docket will rule similarly. The trial to award defamation damages to the Sandy Hook households in Connecticut had been scheduled for August.

rryser@newstimes.com 203-731-3342