Texas appeals court blocks Infowars transfer in Alex Jones case
A Texas appeals court blocked the transfer of Infowars assets on Thursday, putting The Onion’s proposed takeover of alex jones' platform back in limbo. The order came after an emergency motion from Jones’ lawyers and stopped a state-court approval process tied to the liquidation of Infowars.
The pause affects a proposed licensing deal that would give The Onion temporary authority to use Infowars trademarks, copyrights and intellectual property while a state receiver in Texas works toward liquidation. Austin-based Infowars faces that process because Jones owes more than $1 billion in defamation judgments to relatives of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
Texas Third Court of Appeals
The Texas Third Court of Appeals approved the emergency motion late Wednesday, temporarily blocking the transfer of any Infowars assets. A state judge in Austin had scheduled a hearing for Thursday on whether to approve the deal with the receiver, but changed it into a status conference after the appellate order.
The judge also set another hearing for May 28. That keeps the deal in place only on paper for now, while the legal fight over who can control the assets continues through the Texas courts.
Ben Collins and Mark Bankston
Ben Collins, The Onion’s CEO, said on social media before Thursday’s hearing, "This newly insane, unprecedented legal stalling does nothing but delay our deal with the receiver to take control of InfoWars" and "We now expect new traps in Alex Jones’ amoral war to deny paying the Sandy Hook families, but we’re freshly surprised by the U.S. legal system’s appetite to put up with it." The Onion has already been selling Infowars merchandise on its own website, including T-shirts and tote bags with an Infowars logo that replaces the "o" with The Onion’s trademark onion image.
Jones posted videos on his social media sites after the appellate ruling and declared victory, saying, "I said days ago there’s no way the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Texas doesn’t overturn this — you know they’re all Democrats — because it’s so outrageous what you’ve done," while calling The Onion’s plan illegal and citing pending appeals and his continuing personal bankruptcy case. Mark Bankston, who represents some Sandy Hook relatives, said after Thursday’s hearing, "As far as the world is concerned, Infowars is dead. Everybody knows that," and "He’s trying to keep the bloated corpse of a media organization alive. It’s all a joke. Everybody knows where this is going."
November 2024 auction
The dispute has already moved through one bankruptcy fight. In November 2024, The Onion was named the winner of a bankruptcy court auction of the assets of Free Speech Systems, but a federal judge later overturned the auction results because of problems with the process and The Onion’s bid.
The latest ruling does not end the case. It delays any transfer of Infowars assets until the next Austin hearing and keeps the receiver, the families and The Onion waiting on whether the court will allow the liquidation process to move forward.
