A judge has ordered the liquidation of Infowars host Alex Jones’ personal assets, paving the way for potential payouts to the families of the victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook mass shooting. However, US Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez ruled against liquidating Jones’ company, Free Speech Systems, which owns the Infowars brand.

The families have won a total of $1.5 billion in defamation judgments against Jones and his company over his false statements about the attack. The liquidation will force the sale of Jones’s personal assets, including a multimillion-dollar ranch, properties, cars, boats, and guns. Recent court filings indicate Jones has approximately $8.6 million in personal assets.

Friday’s ruling in Houston, Texas, allows Free Speech Systems and Infowars to continue operating. According to court filings, Free Speech Systems employs 44 people and generated nearly $3.2 million in revenue in a recent month, mostly from selling dietary supplements and other items.

The decision has left the families of the victims divided on whether the corporate bankruptcy should also be converted to a liquidation procedure. While the ruling does not remove Free Speech Systems’ liability, it allows plaintiffs in the defamation cases to pursue the damages they are owed in state courts or through further bankruptcy hearings.

Judge Lopez, at times appearing deeply emotional, acknowledged the complexity of the case. “There’s no easy or right answer here,” he said. “I think creditors are better served in pursuing their state court rights.”

Christopher Mattei, an attorney for the families, stated they would act swiftly to collect damages. “The court authorized us to move immediately to collect against all Infowars assets, and we intend to do exactly that,” Mattei said. “Alex Jones is neither a martyr nor a victim. He is the perpetrator of the worst defamation in American history.”

In the aftermath of the December 2012 attack on Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, Alex Jones and guests on his broadcasts repeatedly questioned the reality of the massacre, promoting conspiracy theories suggesting the murders were faked or carried out by government agents. The attack claimed the lives of twenty young children and six school staff members.

Jones notoriously referred to the tragedy as “a giant hoax” and, in 2015, stated, “Sandy Hook is a synthetic, completely fake with actors, in my view, manufactured… I knew they had actors there clearly, but I thought they killed some real kids, and it just shows how bold they are, that they clearly used actors.” He has since admitted that the Sandy Hook killings did indeed occur.

As a result of these broadcasts, families of the victims were harassed both online and in person by Infowars viewers. The families subsequently filed defamation lawsuits in Connecticut and Texas, which led to legal victories that forced Jones and his company, Free Speech Systems, into bankruptcy.

The recent hearing was to determine whether these bankruptcy cases should be converted from Chapter 11 to Chapter 7, which would allow for straightforward liquidation rather than more complex financial restructuring.

Despite the ongoing legal battles, Jones has continued to criticize the US justice system on his broadcasts and social media, claiming there is a government plot to silence him. He has warned that he might be taken off the airwaves, although US free speech laws would permit him to establish a new company and continue broadcasting even if his current company were liquidated.

“We just dodged a bullet, praise Jesus,” Jones said during a broadcast on Infowars following the hearing. “I would have been off the air today if the judge hadn’t done the right thing. We live to fight another day.”

During the hearing, attorneys for the families argued that Jones was attempting to devalue his company, citing instances where he urged listeners to purchase products from a company owned by his father instead of directly from Infowars. However, Jones’ lawyers countered, claiming that the company had experienced record sales in recent weeks.