Court Digest

Texas
Judge rules Alex Jones can’t use bankruptcy protection to avoid paying $1.1 billion to Sandy Hook families
HOUSTON (AP) — A Texas judge has ruled that Infowars host Alex Jones cannot use bankruptcy protection to avoid paying nearly $1.1 billion to families who sued over his conspiracy theories that the Sandy Hook school massacre was a hoax.

The decision is another significant defeat for Jones in the wake of juries in Texas and Connecticut punishing him over spreading falsehoods about the nation’s deadliest school shooting. U.S. District Judge Christopher Lopez of Houston issued the ruling Thursday.

Jones filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last year and more recent financial documents submitted by his attorneys put his personal net worth around $14 million. But Lopez ruled that those protections do not apply over findings of “willful and malicious” conduct.

“The families are pleased with the Court’s ruling that Jones’s malicious conduct will find no safe harbor in the bankruptcy court,” said Christopher Mattei, a Connecticut lawyer for the families. “As a result, Jones will continue to be accountable for his actions into the future regardless of his claimed bankruptcy.”

An attorney for Jones did not immediately return a message seeking comment Friday.

After 26 people were killed by a gunman at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, in 2012, Jones made a false conspiracy theory a centerpiece of his programing on his flagship Infowars show. He told his audience last year he was “officially out of money” and has asked them to shop on his Infowars website to help keep him on the air.

But Jones’ personal spending topped $93,000 in July alone, including thousands of dollars on meals and entertainment, according to his monthly financial reports in the bankruptcy case. The spending stuck a nerve with Sandy Hook families as they have yet to collect any of the money that juries awarded them.

Sandy Hook families won nearly the $1.5 billion in judgments against Jones last year in lawsuits over repeated promotion of a false theory that the school shooting that ever happened.

Relatives of the victims testified at the trials about being harassed and threatened by Jones’ believers, who sent threats and even confronted the grieving families in person, accusing them of being “crisis actors” whose children never existed.


Florida
Man convicted of murdering wife  over ‘Zombie House Flipping’ appearance
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A Florida man has been found guilty of murdering his wife after a dispute over whether they should appear together on a home-renovation television show.

David Tronnes was found guilty of first-degree murder Wednesday for the 2018 death of Shanti Cooper-Tronnes, who prosecutors said was beaten and strangled to death in their Orlando house. Tronnes was sentenced to life in prison immediately after jurors returned the guilty verdict following almost five hours of deliberations.

According to prosecutors, Tronnes had spent thousands of dollars on home renovations in hopes of appearing on the A&E reality show “Zombie House Flipping,” which is filmed in Orlando. Cooper-Tronnes refused to appear on the show, which upset Tronnes and led to arguments.

Cooper-Tronnes was killed in the bedroom, and Tronnes attempted to clean up the scene before police arrived, according to evidence presented at trial. Tronnes claimed he found his wife in the bathtub after spending the day cleaning and walking his dogs.