The shutdown comes despite a Texas state appeals court issuing a last-minute order pausing a move by satirical news website The Onion to licence Infowars’ intellectual property.
Theorder earlier in the week by a three-judge panel of the Texas Court of Appeals, Third Circuit at Austin temporarily froze any asset turnover. The judges also paused a larger appeal of defamation judgments against Jones related to his false claims that the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012 was a hoax.
The order meant the receiver controlling Infowars parent Free Speech Systems had to pause his bid to licence the trademark and associated domains.
Sandy Hook victims’ families who won nearly US$1.3 billion ($2.2b) in judgments made an unsuccessful attempt to reverse the pause at the Texas Supreme Court before a court hearing in Austin, where a judge was expected to consider the licensing deal.
The receiver, Gregory S. Milligan of HMP Advisory Holdings, last week filed papers seeking approval of the deal more than three years after Jones filed for bankruptcy. The Onion previously attempted to take over Infowars in 2024, but it was shut down by a Houston bankruptcy judge.
Onion chief executive Ben Collins said on his Bluesky account that Texas courts created “an unprecedented situation” by pausing the receiver deal, rent couldn’t be paid, and it appeared that Infowars would shut down.
“Goodbye, get lost, and we’ll see you soon,” Collins said.
War Is Over LLC, an affiliate of The Onion owner Global Tetrahedron LLC, sought an exclusive licence to use the Infowars IP for US$81,000 per month over six months. The revenue is meant to be used for operational costs and to preserve the value of the Free Speech assets while a broader legal stay prevents a final sale.
Collins has said the company intends to relaunch Infowars as a satirical property.
The Sandy Hook families’ motion to the Texas Supreme Court remains under review. In a filing in a federal district court, they accused Jones of a “flurry of serial filings” meant to mislead state courts and prevent the families from collecting “a single penny” on their final judgments.
Lawyers for Jones and the receiver didn’t respond to requests for comment.
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