In a fiery Texas courtroom battle, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez delivered a sharp blow to plans for Alex Jones’ Infowars to be sold to the satirical news outlet The Onion.

As The New York Post reported, the judge rejected the controversial sale on Tuesday night, pointing to significant flaws in the bankruptcy auction process. Lopez’s decision keeps Jones at the helm of the conspiracy-driven platform based in Austin, Texas.

The Onion emerged as the winning bidder during the November 14 auction, outbidding a company tied to Jones. Their plans for a radical transformation of Infowars into a parody site were no secret.

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According to the satirical outlet, the revamped platform would have launched in January, with Jones unceremoniously ousted. However, Lopez’s ruling halted those plans, asserting that the auction process had been mishandled.

A statement from The Onion about InfoWars. pic.twitter.com/dtiQHSZ9vj

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Lopez criticized the bankruptcy auction as riddled with procedural missteps, stating that it “left a lot of money on the table” for families of the victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

These families are creditors in the case after securing massive judgments against Jones for his defamatory claims about the tragedy.

“You’ve got to scratch and claw and get everything you can for them,” Lopez declared, emphasizing the need for justice for the grieving families.

While Lopez found no evidence of intentional wrongdoing, his pointed critique suggested that the auction process failed to maximize financial recovery for the victims.

For now, Jones remains in control of Infowars, a platform known for its bombastic style and promotion of controversial conspiracy theories. This ruling marks a temporary victory for the embattled host, who has faced mounting legal and financial challenges in recent years.

Jones has described the bankruptcy proceedings as an effort to silence him, often portraying himself as a martyr for free speech. Critics, however, see his claims as a thinly veiled attempt to shield his assets from the Sandy Hook families’ rightful compensation.

The decision leaves the future of Infowars uncertain. With the rejected sale and ongoing bankruptcy proceedings, Jones faces growing pressure to address his legal and financial obligations. Meanwhile, The Onion will have to shelve its plans to turn Infowars into a parody, at least for now

This development underscores the high stakes of the Infowars bankruptcy case, where the quest for justice for the Sandy Hook families continues to take center stage.

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