A Texas appellate court has issued an order preventing the transfer of assets from conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’s Infowars platform to a court-appointed receiver, effectively suspending a proposed licensing agreement with a satirical news website.
The three-judge panel delivered an unsigned order on Wednesday evening that blocks any asset turnover to the receiver, preventing the completion of a deal announced on April 20. The agreement would have allowed the satirical publication to create its own version of the conspiracy platform and feature comedians like Tim Heidecker in new programming.
Under the proposed arrangement, the satirical outlet would pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over six months, with options to renew the agreement or purchase the assets outright afterward. The publication has already launched its version of the site online and begun selling merchandise featuring a modified logo.
All revenue from the licensing and merchandise sales would be directed to families affected by the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, to whom Jones owes more than one billion dollars in defamation damages for his statements about the 2012 tragedy.
The licensing deal would have allowed Jones to continue broadcasting independently, though without the brand he established in 1999. However, the appeals court’s ruling means the court-appointed receiver no longer controls the website assets that would have been licensed, creating legal uncertainty until the lower court can issue new directives.
The satirical publication’s parent company, Global Tetrahedron LLC, had previously attempted to acquire the conspiracy platform brand during a federal bankruptcy auction in late 2024. That effort failed when a federal bankruptcy judge invalidated the auction results after the court-appointed trustee could not establish a fixed value for the proposed deal.
Following the April 20 announcement, Jones and his legal team filed appeals in both state and federal courts. They have since requested dismissal of their federal appeal following the Third Court of Appeals order.
Global Tetrahedron LLC, the receiver, and the Sandy Hook families have appealed Wednesday’s decision to the Texas Supreme Court. Ben Collins, CEO of the satirical publication, expressed confidence on social media that the conspiracy platform would still cease operations around midnight Friday, despite the legal setback.
Jones acknowledged that regardless of whether the satirical outlet takes control, he would need to vacate his studio on Thursday night.
A scheduled Thursday afternoon hearing before Travis County District Court Judge Maya Guerra Gamble proceeded as planned, though she could not take any action while the Texas Supreme Court’s response to the appeals remained pending.
The appeals court has given Judge Gamble until May 29 to file a new order in the case, with a new hearing scheduled for May 28. The legal proceedings continue to unfold as both parties navigate the complex intersection of bankruptcy law, defamation judgments, and asset transfers in this unprecedented case involving media properties and substantial civil damages.
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