Amid Trial, Alex Jones Makes Bankruptcy Move

Amid the first of three trials to determine how much he must pay because of his admitted Sandy Hook lies, Alex Jones made an unexpected financial move on Friday, reports USA Today. Jones put Free Speech Systems, the parent company of his Infowars media empire, into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The Texas judge currently presiding over the first of the trials ruled Friday after the disclosure that the move will not affect the proceedings, which are to resume on Monday. In that trial, the parents of one of the first-graders killed in the Sandy Hook school shooting are seeking $150 million from Jones because he spread the lie that they were taking part in an elaborate hoax. Jones has since disavowed the claims.

Attorneys for victims' families say the bankruptcy maneuver is an attempt to gum up the proceedings, particularly in the two trials still to come. “Just two days before jury selection is due to begin in Connecticut, Mr. Jones has once again fled like a coward to bankruptcy court in a transparent attempt to delay facing the families that he has spent years hurting,” said Chris Mattei, an attorney in that case, per the New York Times. Jones has previously filed for bankruptcy in regard to some of his smaller businesses, but Friday's move is more substantial. (A Jones attorney was caught flipping off an opposing attorney.)