Infowars website back in Alex Jones' hands after judge said 'no one should feel comfortable' with auction
Infowars was returned to Alex Jones' control following a brief shutdown on Thursday, with the judge in the broadcaster's defamation case saying “No one should feel comfortable with the results” of the auction that saw Global Tetrahedron, parent company of The Onion, briefly take over the brand.
The Infowars website is back in the hands of its founder, Alex Jones, after a judge ruled a new hearing was needed in the case.
On Thursday, it was announced that Global Tetrahedron, the parent company of satirical news website The Onion, had won the rights to the assets during a bankruptcy sale on Thursday following a $1 billion defamation ruling against the broadcaster by families of the Sandy Hook school shooting.
Jones made presumably the final broadcast under the Infowars banner Thursday afternoon, saying he didn't “know what’s going to happen, but I’m going to be here until they come and turn the lights off.”
Shortly after, the Infowars.com and Banned.video domains operated by Jones went offline.
But in a twist on Friday, Jones announced he had regained control over the Infowars brand.
The decision stems from complications in the bidding process, with Judge Christopher Lopez now ordering a new evidentiary hearing for the sale.
Christopher Murray, the trustee overseeing the case, acknowledged The Onion did not have the highest bid, Global News reports via the Associated Press. Murray said The Onion deal was better because some of the Sandy Hook families “agreed to forgo a portion of the sale proceeds to pay Jones’ other creditors,” the outlet reported.
But an attorney for First United American Companies, a firm associated with Jones' brand, said Murray changed the rules at the last moment, forgoing a process that would see the sale go to the highest bidder.
“No one should feel comfortable with the results of this auction,” Judge Lopez said. “We’re all going to an evidentiary hearing and I’m going to figure out exactly what happened.”
Afterwards, Jones said on his show that he hoped the judge would void the sale, and that he may yet retain control of the Infowars brand. The broadcaster launched the “Alex Jones Network” on Thursdays following the Infowars shutdown.
As of now, Infowars.com and Banned.video have been restored to Jones' control. A date for next week's hearing was not immediately set.
