A Texas bankruptcy judge has rejected a proposed liquidation of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ company Free Speech Systems, the parent company of Infowars, saying that a denial of the bankruptcy plan was, in his opinion, in the best interest of the creditors. But the judge approved a separate liquidation of Jones’ personal assets.

Right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones on Thursday moved to liquidate his personal assets, agreeing to demands from the families of Sandy Hook victims whom he owes more than $1.5 billion in damages over his lies about the 2012 school massacre.

The seismic move paves the way for a future in which Jones no longer owns Infowars, the influential conspiracy empire he founded in the late 1990s. Over the years, Jones has not only used the media company to poison the public discourse with vile lies and conspiracy theories, but also to enrich himself to the tune of millions of dollars.

Right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones has asked a US court to liquidate his assets, legal filings show, which could allow him to start paying damages he owes the familes of victims of a 2012 school shooting.

The surviving families of the Sandy Hook shooting have not yet seen any of $1.5bn (£1.32bn) Mr Jones was ordered to pay in 2022.

The request, filed in a Texas court on Thursday, could speed up payments to the families, some of whom have faced harassment over Mr Jones’s claims.

Mr Jones and his media company Infowars have been contacted for comment.

Alex Jones will liquidate his assets to help pay off a $1.5 billion defamation judgment against him after he was sued by the families of the children who died in the Sandy Hook school shooting for saying that the massacre was a hoax.

Jones, the host of the popular Infowars site, has asked a US judge to convert his bankruptcy into a Chapter 7 liquidation, giving up on an effort to settle the judgments related to his lies about the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre.

After a weekend in which conspiracy theorist Alex Jones warned that his media company faced an imminent shutdown by the federal government because of his bankruptcy cases, a judge on Monday allowed Jones to keep operating for the next two weeks while it is decided whether his assets should be liquidated.

Facing nearly $1.5 billion in payments to the victims of the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting, conspiracy theorist and InfoWars host Alex Jones received a judge's go-ahead to sell his $2.8 million Texas ranch and said his InfoWars studios in Austin could be next.

Over the weekend, the families of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims requested that Alex Jones’s media organization be liquidated by a bankruptcy judge.

“Liquidation could mean that Jones would have to sell most of what he owns, including his company and its assets, but could keep his home and other personal belongings that are exempt from bankruptcy liquidation. Proceeds would go to his creditors, including the Sandy Hook families,” AP News reported.

The Supreme Court has rejected a petition from Owen Shroyer — an InfoWars host who traversed Capitol grounds with broadcaster Alex Jones amid the riot on Jan. 6, 2021 — seeking to overturn his misdemeanor guilty plea on First Amendment grounds.

Shroyer accompanied Jones throughout the day on Jan. 6, helping lead the march from President Donald Trump’s rally to the Capitol while stoking the fury of thousands of Trump supporters who had just attended his “stop the steal” rally.

Alex Jones has proposed paying the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre at least $55 million over 10 years, according to Jones’ latest bankruptcy filing, a small portion of the combined $1.4 billion that courts have ordered the InfoWars host to pay to the families for spreading baseless conspiracy theories about the shooting.

Jones proposed a settlement plan that would pay the families at least $5.5 million annually over 10 years, according to a court filing, though the plan still requires court approval.