Bidders interested in acquiring the media company founded by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones will fight in a bankruptcy auction on Wednesday, potentially silencing its Infowars broadcast platform for good.

But the potential buyers’ identities are not being disclosed because they have agreed to confidentiality agreements to receive auction materials. Jones says his fate and the future of his company, Free Speech Systems, depends on who succeeds: the entities that either support him or the families Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims.

On his show Monday, amid pleas for listeners to buy subscriptions and the nutritional supplements he sells, Jones painted a picture of his potential buyers, describing a group of anonymous bidders as friendly supporters who would allow his show to run smoothly. normal. Others, he said, were “bad guys” who would shut down Infowars.

While he said he would continue to broadcast through an alternative channel if ordered to close by a new buyer, Jones noted that he would be hampered by the loss of his brand, website and equipment, among other necessities.

“All you lefties celebrating the end of Alex Jones and Infowars are fools,” he said. “Just watch.”

A number of potential buyers have been exposed in recent weeks, from some who have spoken publicly of their interest, including Roger Stone, a longtime ally of President-elect Donald Trump, others who have been encouraged on social media to consider the opportunity, such as tech billionaire Elon Musk and the owners satirical news site Onion. Stone, Musk and The Onion did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The auction companies the sale said “there are no restrictions on the use of any property acquired in the bankruptcy order” and that the winner has the freedom to continue Infowars operations or not.

Ultimately, the federal court-appointed receiver, Christopher Murray, will distribute the proceeds of the sale, which is intended to satisfy the estate’s creditors, made up largely of the families of Sandy Hook victims to whom Jones must pay damages in defamation verdicts.

Infowars production rights and materials, the Infowars store, domain names, production equipment and other assets — including a Terradyne armored truck and a Winnebago motorhome — are available and may be purchased in whole or in part, according to ThreeSixty. Asset advisors. Jones broadcasts from the Austin, Texas area. Anything not sold would be part of a second auction next month.

Firm he told the Associated Press there was a large number of inquiries among potential bidders.

Jay Westbrook, a professor of bankruptcy law at the University of Texas, said the ultimate goal would be to get “a maximum return for the victims.”

The bidding process itself is usually quick, he added, “but if an interested party objects to the procedure, there could be a court hearing that delays the final outcome. Given the politics, I wouldn’t be surprised to see an objection.”

Callie Kalny, co-director of the Center for Media Psychology and Social Influence at Northwestern University, said that regardless of who wins, Jones has made it clear that he will continue to broadcast in some form, including on X, which is owned by Musk .

“Of course, a backer winning the auction might make his operations a little easier, but as long as there are people who want to hear his message, he’ll probably continue to share it,” she said. “In other words, you can take Alex Jones out of Infowars, but you can’t separate him from that ethos — those core principles and approach to understanding the world aren’t likely to disappear just because the platform or the brand changes.”

The auction is part of Murray’s program”orderly liquidation process” under the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, which oversaw the latest phase of the case against Jones stemming from the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Newtown, Connecticut.

The families of the victims filed lawsuits in Connecticut and Texas, accusing Jones of defaming them on his show and causing them emotional distress by repeatedly suggesting that the shooting, in which a gunman killed 20 first graders and six adultsit was a prank.

Juries awarded the families nearly $1.5 billion, but failed to collect anything from Jones, who said he could not afford such a massive sum. He filed for bankruptcy at the end of 2022 and judge in June allowed him to liquidate his personal assets to help pay the verdicts.

Jones, 50, founded Infowars, which operates under Free Speech Systems, in 1999. How much the auction could fetch remains unclear, but the company itself has about $6 million in cash and $1.2 million in dollars in inventory, according to previous court filings.

The families in the Texas and Connecticut lawsuits have fought in court on the liquidation process, with concerns about how the money will be distributed. Still, they said, Jones’ loss of the company brings some accountability for his past words.

At his Texas trial in 2022, Jones broadly blamed the “corporate media” for twisting his words and portraying him unfairly, but did not specify how.

While Jones testified that he believes Sandy Hook was “100 percent real,” he used the ongoing litigation to galvanize his listeners as they deal with the Infowars loss.

“We need more funding to make sure we have full power as we continue our assault,” Jones said on his show Tuesday, while also saying he has another studio to broadcast from if Infowars goes to a “buyer hostile”.

Roy Gutterman, a Syracuse University communications professor and director of the Tully Center for Freedom of Expression, said Jones is unlikely to quit after his decades of incendiary rhetoric.

“Despite the ruling, Alex Jones still has his First Amendment right to speak his mind and continue to talk about whatever he wants,” he said. “The new statements could create new potential liability, but that seems to be a risk he’s willing to take.”