Sandy Hook families offer to settle Alex Jones's $1.5bn debt
- Published
Sandy Hook families won a $1.5bn lawsuit against Alex Jones last year. They are offering to settle for a fraction of that amount.
Family members of the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting victims offered to settle the $1.5bn (£1.32bn) debt owed by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.
They said they would accept the sale of Mr Jones's assets, or a minimum of $85m (£67m) over 10 years.
Mr Jones admitted making repeated false claims about the deaths, which led to harassment of the victims' families.
The Sandy Hook families sued Jones over those false claims and won the $1.5bn judgement last year.
Mr Jones and his company, Free Speech Systems, have since filed for bankruptcy, but a judge ruled last month it would not release him from paying the settlement.
This new offer, which would also require Mr Jones to pay the families half of any income he earned over $9m (£7m) per year, was revealed in court filings last week.
In the filings, lawyers for the family slammed Mr Jones for continuing "to enjoy his extravagant lifestyle" since he filed for bankruptcy. They noted that "based on his monthly operating reports, he has spent approximately $900,000 since commencing" bankruptcy proceedings.
They also criticised what they say is his lack of cooperation, poor record keeping and his continued refusal to sell his assets.
Mr Jones's attorney, Vickie Driver, did not respond to a request for comment.
The plaintiffs alleged Mr Jones is haemorrhaging money, which is why the case "must resolve soon".
In an earlier filing in his bankruptcy case, Mr Jones revealed spending $100,000 per month, although he claims he has debts of more than $1m.
"The time has come for Jones to choose whether he is willing to pay his creditors a reasonable portion of what they are owed or would prefer to remain embroiled in costly and time consuming litigation for years to come," the filing said.
Ms Driver argued in court on Monday that the $85m figure was unrealistic and that Mr Jones would be unable to pay it, the Associated Press reported.
Mr Jones has cast doubt on the mass shooting, which included the murder of 20 students and six staff members, at a school in suburban Connecticut for years.
He spun elaborate conspiracy theories about the shooting, alleging that it was staged, grieving parents were acting and that the government was involved in the attack.
The theories were false, but many of the ideas have subsequently been used to cast doubt on other US mass shootings.
Testifying in a Texas court last year, Mr Jones admitted he was wrong and called the killings "100% real."
- Published16 October 2022
- Published16 February 2023
