Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones has filed for bankruptcy just weeks after losing his case against the families of Sandy Hook victims.
In October, the ring-wing Infowars host was ordered by a Connecticut jury to pay nearly $1 billion in damages to numerous families of victims of the 2012 mass shooting.
The jury's decision is the second multimillion-dollar verdict against Jones in just over two months.
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Back in August, a separate verdict ruled Jones and his company must pay $49.3 million to the victims' parents in a similar case in Texas.
The defamation lawsuits were a result Jones falsely claiming on his Infowars show that the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, which saw a gunman kill 20 children and six staff members, was a hoax and that the victims and their families were 'crisis actors' who faked the tragedy.
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Following the latest verdict, the 48-year-old host got back behind the mic to suggest that the cases were scare tactics.
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He then proceeded to ask his fans to visit the Infowars website to purchase items, with the money going towards helping him to appeal.
It appears the plan didn't work, as he filed for bankruptcy today (2 December).
Reuters reports that the court filing shows Jones filed under the Chapter 11 protection from creditors with the US bankruptcy court in Houston, Texas.
It states that he has between $1 million and $10 million of assets alongside between $1 billion and $10 billion of liabilities, while also referring to his affiliate company Free Speech Systems which filed for bankruptcy in July.
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The news arrives just after Jones invited Kanye West onto his show, who has had a myriad of controversies of his own of late.
In recent months, Ye has been dumped by many of his brands, including the likes of Adidas and Balenciaga, following antisemitic remarks he made.
In the shocking new interview, the rapper admitted that he 'liked Hitler', while Jones suggested that West had been 'demonized' in the press.
But when Jones said it was unfair for West to be compared to Adolf Hitler or the Nazis, West interrupted and said he sees 'good things about Hitler'.
As for Jones, as a result of his previous claims about the Sandy Hook mass shooting, families of those killed in the horrific school attack that shocked the world have been harassed by fellow conspiracy theorists for nearly 10 years.
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During the closing statements in the latest court case, lawyers acting on behalf of the families said Jones and his company, Free Speech Systems LLC, have cashed in on his conspiracy theory for years.
Lawyers said Jones' lies about the shooting boosted traffic to his website and made him millions of dollars in revenue as the victims' families suffered a decade-long campaign of harassment and death threats by Jones’ followers.
Lawyer for the plaintiffs, Chris Mattei, told jurors that 'every single one of these families (was) drowning in grief, and Alex Jones put his foot right on top of them'.
During the trial, Jones admitted that his claims about the shooting had been false, but refused to apologise to the families.
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If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence contact Cruse Bereavement Care via their national helpline on 0808 808 1677
Topics: News, US News, Money, Conspiracy Theories
Daisy Phillipson