The Alex Jones and Sandy Hook families are entering the final stretch of their bankruptcy battle

Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones proposed paying Sandy Hook families who won more than $1 billion in damages against him last year a total of at least $5.5 million a year over 10 years while the families look for aim to liquidate his Infowars media empire, according to competing plans. filed late Friday.

Although the proposals are far apart, they indicate that efforts to resolve the bankruptcy of Mr Jones and his company are entering a final phase after lasting more than a year. Final hearings in the case are scheduled for late February in a bankruptcy court in Houston.

“Today marks the first time Mr. Jones has publicly shared his plan to be accountable for the harm he has caused to these families,” said Avi Moshenberg, an attorney for family members who sued Mr. Jones in Texas. “We are very focused on ensuring the families get what is fair and will share our assessment of Jones’ plan in due course.”

An agreement on a bankruptcy settlement plan would help end a long-running courtroom drama that has highlighted the human cost of spreading inflammatory falsehoods in an era of mushrooming disinformation. Mr. Jones, through his Infowars radio and online show, has been near the center of many recent disinformation campaigns, including skepticism about the coronavirus vaccine and the lie that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from President Donald J. Trump.

After 20 elementary school students and six teachers were killed in the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., Mr. Jones continued for years spreading lies that the massacre was a hoax aimed at confiscating Americans’ firearms, and that the victims’ families were actors complicit in the plot. The families faced online abuse, personal confrontations and death threats from people who believed the conspiracy theory.

In 2018, the families of ten victims sued him for defamation, and were awarded more than $1.4 billion in damages in lawsuits in Texas and Connecticut. When the cases went to trial, Infowars was declared bankrupt and Mr Jones declared personal bankruptcy late last year. The families have been fighting him in bankruptcy court ever since.

Despite the monumental judgments against him, Mr. Jones has not retreated from public commentary. This week he was allowed back to the social media platform And he spent an excessive amount of money court records detailing costs to almost $100,000 per month.

While significant, Mr. Jones’ proposed settlement falls far short of what he has been ordered to pay. Documents detailing Mr Jones and Infowars’ finances filed with the court suggest he and his company’s net worth is nowhere near what he owes the families.

Under Mr. Jones’ plan, a lump sum of at least $5.5 million per year would be distributed among the plaintiffs, accompanied by a percentage of Infowars’ annual revenues and his personal annual earnings. After a decade of payments, Mr. Jones’ debt would be considered satisfied.

Family members who do not choose to settle would still receive a share of Infowars and Mr. Jones’ revenues, but no share of the guaranteed minimum of $5.5 million per year. They would also be allowed to sue him indefinitely for damages owed to them.

The proposal appears to be based on a template offered by the families’ attorneys at a Nov. 27 hearing, when they proposed a settlement of at least $8.5 million a year for 10 years.

Lawyers for Mr. Jones did not respond to requests for comment.

The families’ proposal would liquidate Mr. Jones’ assets, with the proceeds distributed among the families who sued him. Crucially, this liquidation would not free Mr Jones from his debts to the families, which would effectively mean he would have to pay them for the rest of his life.

The families’ plan is in line with a ruling by Bankruptcy Court Judge Christopher Lopez that Mr. Jones cannot use his Chapter 11 filing to avoid paying damages. Earlier this year, the families asked Judge Lopez to order Mr. Jones to pay them the full award without the possibility of a trial or a forced settlement on a lesser amount — in legal terms, to settle Mr. Jones’ debts to the families to meet. unredeemable” due to bankruptcy. In October, the judge agreed, allowing the families to pursue payment for the rest of Mr. Jones’ working life.

The plans filed Friday are the first steps in what is called a confirmation process to arrive at a final bankruptcy plan. Judge Lopez will hold hearings on the bankruptcy from February 27 to 29 in Houston, from which a final resolution is expected to be reached.