The proposal comes as Alex Jones' company, Free Speech Systems, is facing liquidation over more than $1 billion in defamation judgments owed to relatives of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. After the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting, Alex Jones called it a hoax staged by 'crisis actors' in an effort to increase gun control. Many relatives of the Sandy Hook victims, along with an FBI agent who responded to the shooting, sued Jones and his company for defamation and infliction of emotional distress.
Under The Onion's plan, the Sandy Hook families would receive profits from the new operations. The licensing deal with The Onion would be for six months, with the right to renew it for another six months. According to the proposal, The Onion's plan also calls for it to pay $81,000 a month to cover the rent.
The deal could be in place around April 30, 2024, if approved by Judge Maya Guerra Gamble in Austin, Texas. The Onion has already hired people to run Infowars as a parody site, including Tim Heidecker.
I'm going to continue the exact same show. It'll just be called the 'Alex Jones Show.' So, it's the same satellite, same system. It's a different news site and news studio. So I'm not going anywhere.
Alex Jones vowed to fight the licensing proposal in court on his show on Monday. He acknowledged he and his crew could be kicked out of the building on April 30 if the plan is approved. According to The Independent - Main, Alex Jones described plans to continue his shows in another studio he is preparing, with content airing on his personal X account and other new social media accounts and websites, as well as dozens of radio stations.
Jones has set up new websites for the merchandise he sells, including dietary supplements and clothing that bring in millions of dollars a year. A court-appointed receiver is working to eventually sell the assets of Infowars' parent company, Free Speech Systems, and give proceeds to the Sandy Hook families. The receiver is supporting The Onion's plan.
Whether Judge Maya Guerra Gamble will approve The Onion's proposal remains uncertain, as do the exact terms and conditions of the proposed six-month licensing deal. It is also unclear how much profit the Sandy Hook families are expected to receive from the new operations or the specific timeline for the court-appointed receiver to sell the assets of Free Speech Systems. Alex Jones has not specified the legal grounds he plans to use to fight the licensing proposal in court.