The fate of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ broadcasting career will largely be decided on Wednesday when the trademark and website associated with his Infowars show, along with nearly all the equipment used to produce the show, go up for auction.
The court-mandated auction has already attracted a number of potential bidders who have signed non-disclosure agreements and committed to depositing a percentage of their wagers, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Those bidders include one person who has wagered at low seven-figure amount in an effort to ensure Jones can continue broadcasting from his Texas studios for the foreseeable future, the person said, requesting anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.
If the person emerges as the winning bidder for the Infowars assets, they intend to retain Jones as an employee of a new company that would ensure contractual commitments with terrestrial radio stations and other platforms are maintained and fulfilled, the source said.
CNN earlier reported that someone had been willing to offer up a bid in the “seven-figure” range, and that the bidder was “an ally of Jones who wants the host to continue broadcasting on the Infowars platform.”
A federal court overseeing a bankruptcy case entered by Jones earlier this year converted the matter into a liquidation after finding Jones did not have enough cash on hand to cover certain debts. That includes a $1.5 billion civil judgment entered against him after the families of several young school shooting victims sued Jones for defamation.
Jones had previously characterized the 2012 shooting spree at Sandy Hook Elementary School as a “staged” event, and vowed to send “private investigators” to Connecticut to determine if the event was real. Twenty-six people, mostly grade school children, were killed in the shooting.
He ultimately determined that the shooting was “as phony as a $3 bill,” and said surveillance footage released by police under various public disclosure laws appeared to resemble a “drill.”
His comments on the Infowars show prompted some of his listeners to harass the families of the young victims. They sued for harassment and defamation, and won a $1.5 billion judgment two years ago.
Jones filed for bankruptcy a short time later, and the families offered to settle the case for $85 million, which Jones would pay over the course of 10 years. Jones countered with his own offer to settle the case for $55 million, which the families rejected.
Separately, a case brought in Texas court by the families of two Sandy Hook shooting victims ended in a judgment against Jones for nearly $50 million.
Related: Infowars trademark, websites to be auctioned in November
Jones’ personal bankruptcy case was followed by a similar filing made by Free Speech Systems, the company that owns Infowars. Filings reviewed by The Desk showed Free Speech Systems had around $79 million in debt and $4 million in cash. The debt is primarily connected to the legal cases, and represents a large portion of Free Speech System’s liability.
The auction on Wednesday is the first part of a multipart fire sale involving assets owned by Free Speech Systems. According to a website connected to the auction, prospective buyers were required to place their bids in sealed envelopes and submit them by a particular deadline — a process known as a “blind auction.” The participants in the auction will not know the bid of others, but will be notified when a winner emerges.
If no one bids on certain assets, the second phase of the fire sale will commence in December, which will take the form of an “English auction,” or one that involves a competitive open bidding process.
In addition to the Infowars trademark, website, online store and studio equipment, other Free Speech Systems-owned assets are also for sale, including podcast feeds, newsletter subscriber lists and over 400 website domains.
