Infowars Parent Seeks New $1.5 Million Salary for Alex Jones

Infowars’ bankrupt parent has proposed a $1.5 million annual salary for Alex Jones, the conservative firebrand ordered to pay almost $1.4 billion to families of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims.

In addition to the salary, the proposed five-year employment contract between Jones and Free Speech Systems LLC would provide potential annual bonuses of up to 20% of revenue based on profit milestones, according a motion to approve the deal filed Tuesday.

The request comes as Judge Christopher Lopez of the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas considers a key question in the Jones’ personal bankruptcy case: whether the nearly $1.4 billion in damages Jones owes Sandy Hook families can be discharged in bankruptcy. Juries in Connecticut and Texas awarded the damages after finding Jones financially liable for spreading lies about the Sandy Hook massacre.

The right-wing program host has been receiving a biweekly salary of just $20,000 since late August 2022, according to court filings. That’s less than half of his previous Infowars salary since Free Speech filed for Chapter 11 protection in July 2022. Jones filed his own personal bankruptcy in December.

Free Speech previously had been paying its owner $1.3 million annually for hosting the Infowars broadcast, according to court filings.

Jones would be required to host an average of 19 three-hour shows per month under the proposed contract.

Jones has continued to host the Infowars show, and has argued in court filings that he can’t pay the Sandy Hook defamation damages with the less than $12 million in assets he has on hand.

Lopez has previously indicated that he’s willing to boost Alex Jones’ salary, saying the conservative firebrand’s job is the lifeblood of his Infowars business. Jones’s attorney previously said her client could be forced to find a new job if he can’t make what he needs to survive at Free Speech.

The case is Free Speech Systems LLC, Bankr. S.D. Tex., No. 22-60043, motion 8/29/23.