A Texas appeals court temporarily halted a deal that would have given the satirical news outlet The Onion control of Alex Jones’s Infowars platforms, delaying a plan to turn the conspiracy site into a parody operation and funnel its revenue to Sandy Hook shooting victims’ families. The ruling, issued late Wednesday, leaves the proposed licensing agreement in limbo and pushes the next court hearing to May 28.
The Onion had been set to take over Infowars’ trademarks, copyrights, and intellectual property through a deal with a state court-appointed receiver who is overseeing the liquidation of Jones’s assets. The sale is meant to help satisfy more than $1 billion in defamation judgments that Jones owes to relatives of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, which he repeatedly described as a hoax.
But the Texas Third Court of Appeals approved an emergency motion from Jones’s lawyers that blocked any asset transfer. As a result, a Thursday hearing in Austin on whether to approve the deal was downgraded to a status conference, according to the Associated Press.
“This newly insane, unprecedented legal stalling does nothing but delay our deal with the receiver to take control of InfoWars,” Ben Collins, The Onion’s CEO, said in a social media post before the hearing. “We now expect new traps in Alex Jones’ amoral war to deny paying the Sandy Hook families, but we’re freshly surprised by the U.S. legal system’s appetite to put up with it.”
Jones declared victory in videos posted to his social media accounts after the appellate ruling. He called The Onion’s plan illegal and, in comments reported by the AP, said of the three-judge appeals panel: “I said days ago there’s no way the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Texas doesn’t overturn this — you know they’re all Democrats — because it’s so outrageous what you’ve done.”
The Onion has already begun selling Infowars merchandise, including T-shirts and tote bags featuring an altered logo. It wants to launch comedy sites that would parody Jones and right-wing commentary, with proceeds directed to the Sandy Hook families.
This is the second time the satirical outlet has seen its Infowars takeover stalled by a court. In November 2024, a federal judge overturned a bankruptcy auction that had named The Onion the winner, citing process issues and flaws in its bid. The Onion had been declared the successful bidder for the assets of Infowars’ parent company, Free Speech Systems, in that auction.
Mark Bankston, a lawyer representing some of the Sandy Hook relatives, accused Jones of engaging in a pattern of delay after the Thursday hearing. “As far as the world is concerned, Infowars is dead. Everybody knows that,” he said. “He’s trying to keep the bloated corpse of a media organization alive. It’s all a joke. Everybody knows where this is going.”
Lawyers for the families have asked the Texas Supreme Court to intervene and overturn the appeals court’s block, but the state’s highest court had not issued a decision before Thursday’s proceeding. The next hearing in the case is set for May 28.
Meanwhile, Jones continues to operate outside the reach of the liquidation. He has said he is building a new studio, has launched a new phone app and websites, and continues to sell dietary supplements and merchandise. His personal X account, where he posts videos to 4.5 million followers, is unaffected by the court cases. On Thursday night, Jones toasted his crew and viewers during a livestream as a clock counted down to what he called his final moments in the Infowars building before power was cut at midnight.