The Onion’s Infowars Takeover Faces Legal Setback in Texas

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Onion’s plan to take over the Infowars platforms, founded by Alex Jones, has hit another roadblock. A Texas court paused a proposed deal that would allow the satirical news outlet to transform Infowars into parody sites.

Infowars is on the brink of liquidation, owing more than $1 billion in defamation lawsuit judgments to families of Sandy Hook shooting victims. Jones has called the Connecticut massacre a hoax, which has led to these judgments.

The proposed licensing deal would grant The Onion temporary authority to use Infowars’ trademarks, copyrights, and intellectual property. This would occur while a state receiver in Texas manages the liquidation process.

A hearing was scheduled for Thursday to review the agreement between The Onion and the receiver. However, it turned into a status conference after the Texas Third Court of Appeals approved an emergency motion from Jones’ lawyers.

This motion temporarily blocked any transfer of Infowars assets. The state judge has set another hearing for May 28.

Lawyers representing the Sandy Hook families sought to have the Texas Supreme Court overturn the appeals court ruling. However, the high court did not make a decision before Thursday’s hearing.

“This newly insane, unprecedented legal stalling does nothing but delay our deal with the receiver to take control of InfoWars,” said Ben Collins, The Onion’s CEO, via social media. “We now expect new traps in Alex Jones’ amoral war to deny paying the Sandy Hook families, but we’re freshly surprised by the U.S. legal system’s appetite to put up with it.”