Alex Jones’s Infowars files for bankruptcy

Infowars, the far-right website created by Alex Jones, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Sunday as the radio host faces a number of lawsuits.

The website filed for bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. Chapter 11 bankruptcy allows companies to continue operating while assembling plans for reorganization. It also pauses some litigation issues.

Jones is the target of a number of defamation lawsuits connected to comments he made regarding the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.

Jones suggested on Infowars that the shooting, which killed 20 first graders and six educators, was a “hoax” staged by crisis actors in an effort to increase opposition to the Second Amendment.

The far-right host was found liable for damages in three defamation cases brought by families of the victims of the incident.

Jones offered to settle the lawsuits by paying $120,000 to each plaintiff, but the families rejected the proposal. A trial determining the damages is set to begin in August.

Infowars’ estimated assets are between $0 and $50,000 and its estimated liabilities range from $1 million and $10 million, according to the bankruptcy filing.

Two other companies owned by Jones — Infowars Health and Prison Planet TV — also filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the Southern District of Texas.

Jones is under further scrutiny by the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. He was subpoenaed by the panel in November.

The radio host said he invoked the Fifth Amendment “almost 100 times” during his remote deposition before the committee.

The Hill has requested comment from Infowars and Jones’s attorney.

Updated at 3:59 p.m.