Austin, TX
Judge to approve auctions liquidating Infowars to help pay Sandy Hook families
AUSTIN, Texas — Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ Infowars media platform and its assets will be sold off piece by piece in auctions this fall to help pay the more than $1 billion he owes relatives of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, under an order expected to be approved by a federal judge.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez in Houston said during a court hearing Tuesday that he will approve the auctions that start in November. But he said he first must change a previous order to clarify that the trustee overseeing Jones’ personal bankruptcy case controls all the assets of Infowars parent company Free Speech Systems, which is owned 100% by Jones.
Despite the pending loss of his company, Jones vows to continue his talk shows through other means, possibly including a new website and his personal social media accounts. He also has suggested that Infowars’ assets could be bought by his supporters, allowing him to continue hosting his show as an employee under the Infowars brand in their home city of Austin, Texas.
“It’s very cut and dry that the assets of Free Speech Systems, the website, the equipment, the shopping cart, all that, can be sold,” Jones said on a recent show. “And they know full well that there are a bunch of patriot buyers, and then the operation can ease on.”
Jones and his company both filed for bankruptcy protection in 2022 — the same year Sandy Hook families won nearly $1.5 billion in defamation and emotional distress lawsuits against Jones for his repeatedly calling the 2012 school shooting a hoax staged by “crisis actors” to get more gun control legislation passed. Twenty first graders and six educators were killed in the Newtown, Connecticut shooting.
During two civil trials in Texas and Connecticut, parents and children of many of the victims testified that they were traumatized by Jones’ hoax conspiracies and his followers’ actions. They said they were harassed and threatened by Jones’ believers, some of whom confronted the grieving families in person, saying the shooting never happened and their children never existed. One parent said someone threatened to dig up his dead son’s grave.
Jones is appealing the civil jury verdicts, citing free speech rights and questioning whether the families proved any connection between his comments, and the people who harassed and threatened the relatives. He has since acknowledged that the shooting did happen.
In June, Lopez converted Jones’ personal bankruptcy reorganization case into a liquidation, meaning many of his assets will be sold off to pay creditors except for his main home and other exempt property. The same day, Lopez also dismissed Free Speech Systems’ bankruptcy case after Jones and the families could not reach agreement on a final plan.
The sell-off order Lopez intends to approve would put Infowars’ intellectual property up for auction on Nov. 13, including its trademarks, copyrighted material, social media accounts and websites. Jones’ personal social media sites, including his account on the social platform X, which has 2.8 million followers, would not be included.
However, the trustee overseeing Jones’ bankruptcy case, Christopher Murray, said Tuesday that he may soon seek court permission to also liquidate Jones’ personal social media accounts and his other intellectual property — which Jones’ attorneys have opposed. That issue could develop into another court fight in the bankruptcy case. Murray also is expected to sell many of Jones’ personal assets.
The Sandy Hook families who won the Connecticut lawsuit want Jones to lose his personal social media accounts. Their lawyers further contend that the families should get a chunk of all of Jones’ future earnings to help pay off his more than $1 billion debt.
Christopher Mattei, a lawyer for the Sandy Hook families in the Connecticut lawsuit, said the judge’s signing of the auction order will be “a significant step forward” in the family’s efforts to make Jones pay for his hoax lies.
“Alex Jones will no longer own or control the company he built,” Mattei said in a statement Tuesday. “This brings the families closer to their goal of holding him accountable for the harm he has caused.”
The rest of Infowars’ assets, including computers, video cameras and other studio equipment, would be sold at a different auction on Dec. 10.
Jones has made millions of dollars over the years selling dietary supplements, apparel, survival gear, books and other items he promotes on his shows, which air on the internet and dozens of radio stations. It’s unclear how much money would be raised by selling Infowars and Jones’ assets, and how much money the Sandy Hook families would get.
Jones has about $9 million in personal assets, according to court filings. Free Speech Systems has about $6 million in cash on hand and about $1.2 million worth of inventory, according to previous court testimony.
Lawyers, financial experts and others who worked on Jones’ bankruptcy cases — who have racked up millions of dollars in fees and expenses — are expected to be paid first.
A remaining legal dispute in the bankruptcy case is whether Free Speech Systems owes more than $50 million to another Jones-owned company, PQPR Holdings Limited. Free Speech Systems buys dietary supplements from PQPR to sell on the Infowars website. PQPR said it wasn’t paid for many of the supplements and filed liens. Sandy Hook lawyers allege the debt is bogus.
If the debt is found to be valid, that could reduce any amount the Sandy Hook families ultimately get from the liquidations.
NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas (KXAN) — Between carpool, homework, and after-school activities for her two teenage daughters, Suzanne La Follette fits in chemo.
As she and her partner move through daily life, they’ve had to navigate cancer treatments and a legal system surrounding workers’ compensation.
“To have this on top of it has been really overwhelming,” La Follette said.
The Austin Fire Department lieutenant of nearly two decades said she was diagnosed with terminal uterine cancer last May. She explained in November 2025, the City of Austin denied her workers’ compensation claim, classifying her cancer as a “disease of life” rather than an illness tied to her work as a firefighter.
“I have no regrets (about) becoming a firefighter,” La Follette said. “But I do think this job absolutely caused the cancer.”
Her case highlights concerns by firefighter associations across the state and the need to strengthen Texas’ presumptive cancer laws, particularly to ensure women firefighters are covered.
Focus on cancers impacting women
La Follette, 46, appealed the city’s decision.
In April, a ruling affirmed that her cancer is occupational, making her eligible for workers’ compensation benefits. A city spokesperson said it’s not appealing the judge’s decision.
“All workers’ compensation claims are unique and evaluated on a case-by-case basis. This process ensured that Lt. La Follette’s case was reviewed and considered by a neutral third party,” said the statement to KXAN investigators. “We are thankful for the clarity provided by the Texas Division of Workers’ Compensation and appreciate Lt. La Follette’s years of service to this community.”
Under Texas law, certain cancers are presumed to be job-related for firefighters, but cancers specifically impacting women, including uterine cancer, are not listed.
It’s why state lawmakers want to study the issue and have directed the Department of State Health Services and the Texas Commission on Fire Protection to compare cancer rates of women firefighters across the state to other women, focusing on ovarian, cervical, uterine and breast cancers. A report due to the Texas legislature by September must include the results of the study and any recommendations.
DSHS said the agency is using Texas Cancer Registry data to compare all cancers, and those specific to women, among women who are firefighters and those who are not. The Texas Commission on Fire Protection explained the agency has shared data with the state health department on more than 40,000 firefighters in Texas to correlate the data, which does not include occupations. The data will allow DSHS to identify women employed as firefighters.
“There have been many studies which show a link to increased risk of cancer amongst male firefighters for a broad range of cancers; however, until now, there were not enough female firefighters in the state to do a meaningful study into the increased risk these women face to female-specific cancers, such as ovarian and breast cancers,” said State Rep. Jared Patterson, R-Frisco, one of the authors of the legislation which became law last legislative session.
Patterson said the new law does not change existing code or policy, but the state will study whether certain cancers should be added to preemptive measures, as other specific cancers have been.
‘Left by the wayside’
Firefighter associations are advocating for statewide changes to cancer protections for firefighters.
“They could get it through the exposure to carcinogens on the fire ground, benzene, diesel exhaust in the fire station, if they don’t have that taken care of,” explained John Riddle, president of the Texas State Association of Fire Fighters.
The association has almost 21,000 members and points to gaps in research, which has historically focused on men.
“They’ve (women) been kind of left by the wayside quite frankly over the years,” said Riddle. “And we need to fix that.”
Though the number of studies into cancer rates impacting female firefighters are limited, one out of Florida is similar to what Texas is hoping to learn.
A study published in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine in 2020 examined cancer risk in over 100,000 Florida firefighters over three decades.
The study found women firefighters had a 154% increased risk of brain cancer, a 142% increased risk of thyroid cancer and a 68% greater risk of melanoma compared to women who were not firefighters. The authors of the study explained more research is needed to focus on a larger number of women firefighters diagnosed with cancer.
It’s what another national study currently underway hopes to do.
The Fire Fighter Cancer Cohort Study, funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is focusing on women firefighters and evaluating factors associated with the increased risk for cancer, reproductive health outcomes and stress in the fire service. As of early May, more than 1,400 women firefighters have enrolled in the study from across the country, over 170 from Texas.
“I’ve really been optimistic that we can make some change,” La Follette said, hearing about the ongoing studies. “The more research we gather, the more we realize… that cancer is an occupational hazard of firefighting.”
AUSTIN, Texas — A man walking his dog with his son was fatally shot by a neighbor Friday evening in Northwest Austin, police said.
Billy Carlisle, 41, was shot at the intersection of Gardenridge Hollow and Wallace Drive at approximately 6:06 p.m. May 8. Austin-Travis County EMS attempted lifesaving measures, but Carlisle was pronounced dead at 6:45 p.m.
Hunter Buchmeyer, 36, was taken into custody in connection with the shooting.
According to APD, Carlisle was walking his dog with his son when he and Buchmeyer, also walking his dog, got into a verbal altercation. The two neighbors had “prior history,” APD said.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE | APD investigating deadly shooting in NW Austin; suspect in custody
The dispute escalated to the point that Buchmeyer called 911 to report the altercation before shooting Carlisle. According to police, Buchmeyer yelled at someone to “get back” before the call disconnected.
Buchmeyer remained at the scene and attempted CPR on Carlisle before officers arrived.
No charges have been filed. APD said the investigation remains open.
The case is being investigated as Austin’s 23rd homicide of 2026.
Anyone with information is asked to contact APD at 512-974-TIPS or submit an anonymous tip through Capital Area Crime Stoppers at austincrimestoppers.org or 512-472-8477. A reward of up to $1,000 may be available for information leading to an arrest.
There was a significant reduction in the number of antisemitic incidents in Rhode Island in 2025, according to a national Jewish advocacy group.
According to the Anti-Defamation League’s latest Audit of Antisemitic Incidents, there were 26 antisemitic incidents in the state last year. That’s down from the 52 incidents counted by the group in 2024.
Samantha Joseph, New England regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, says a big reason for the reduction is a steep decline in antisemitism on college campuses.
“It shows that campus administrators are taking their responsibilities very seriously to provide a safe environment for all of their students,” said Joseph.
Brown University had over $500 million in federal funding frozen by the Trump administration last year following investigations into alleged antisemitism on campus. The funding was restored after Brown reached a settlement with the administration.
The reduction in antisemitic incidents in Rhode Island reflects a wider trend in New England as a whole. According to the ADL’s report, there were 400 antisemitic incidents in the region in 2025, compared to 638 the previous year.
While she’s pleased about the overall drop in antisemitic incidents in Rhode Island, Joseph says a number of concerning trends continue to persist. In particular, the state is still seeing more anti-Jewish incidents than it did prior to the October 7 attacks on Israel that launched the Gaza War in 2023.
Joseph is also concerned about the violent nature of local incidents of antisemitism.
“Even though overall incidents are down, assaults are up and assaults with a deadly weapon are up significantly,” said Joseph. “Our communities remain concerned for their safety, and our work is far from done.”
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