Conservative conspiracy theorist Alex Jones has won another reprieve in his bid to block the satirical website The Onion from taking over his Infowars platform. But Jones says he's being forced out of his Infowars studio anyway, and will move Thursday night to a new studio to rebuild under new ownership.
A Texas appeals court late Wednesday night granted Jones's emergency request to pause a deal that would allow the Onion to license the Infowars brand name and turn the show into a mockery of itself. The Onion hoped a lower court judge would approve the deal at a Thursday hearing, but the appeals court order temporarily ties the judge's hands. The deal remains in limbo while the courts address several legal issues raised by Jones in his appeal.
But in a video posted shortly after the decision was issued, Jones said he is still being forced to leave his Infowars studio Thursday and to move to a new one, because a court-appointed state receiver is no longer paying to keep open the studio in Austin, Texas.
"He's not paying the bills, like the rent or the Internet, the satellite, so we have to shut down," Jones said, adding that Thursday "is the last official Infowars show."
Still, Jones called the appeals court decision "a massive victory," saying the lawsuits against him "failed to silence us and it's created a Streisand effect to only boost people's interest into why we're under such attack."
The Onion takeover is backed by the Sandy Hook families who won more than $1.3 billion in a defamation case against Jones, who spread lies that the 2012 elementary school shooting never happened and the grieving parents were actors trying to drum up support for gun control. The falsehoods led to Jones's supporters stalking and harassing the families for years.
The receiver is charged with taking control of Jones's assets and using the proceeds to pay the families what Jones owes them. To date, they have not collected a penny.
Lawyers for the families say they are pressing on and "look forward to the Onion's ultimate takeover of Jones's corrupt business."
"The Sandy Hook families have endless patience and over $1 billion dollars in judgments against Alex Jones and Infowars," said attorney Chris Mattei. "His desperate legal maneuvering can do nothing to stop the inevitable closure of Infowars, and we call on the Texas courts to recognize that the families, whose final judgments have been blessed by the United States Supreme Court, are entitled to a speedy and just resolution."
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