Alex Jones was forced to sell the platform to help pay the roughly $1.5 billion in damages he owes families of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, which he called a “hoax.” A federal bankruptcy judge has rejected the sale of Alex Jones’s Infowars platform to satirical news website the Onion, ruling Tuesday that the November court-ordered auction of Jones’s website lacked transparency. The decision capped a two-day hearing that stretched late into the night in U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez’s Houston courtroom. “I don’t think anyone acted in bad faith here. I think everyone was trying to buy an asset and put their best foot forward and play by the rules,” Lopez said as he delivered his decision. The judge took issue with the lack of transparency from the sealed bidding process selected by the court-appointed trustee Christopher Murray, who was overseeing the sale of Jones’s assets. The judge added that he was troubled that the process, however well intended, “did not maximize value in any way, based on the record before me.” (…) In a statement, the Onion’s CEO, Ben Collins, expressed disappointment that the ruling did not clear a path forward for any bidder, but he indicated it would continue its efforts toward acquiring Infowars. “It is part of our larger mission to make a better, funnier internet, regardless of the outcome,” the statement said. Chris Mattei, an attorney for the Connecticut families, said in a statement they were disappointed with Lopez’s ruling but would not abandon their fight to hold Jones accountable
via washington post: Judge rejects sale of Infowars to satirical news site the Onion