Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones testifying at a defamation case in 2022. Tyler Sizemore/Hearst Connecticut Media/AP
Right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones started the process of liquidating his assets on Friday, taking the initial steps toward paying the $1.5 billion he owes families of the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting. Jones runs the popular Infowars media platform, where he repeatedly described the shooting, which killed 20 first-grade students and six teachers, as a “hoax.” Families of victims filed defamation suits against Jones and Infowars, and while Jones eventually conceded in court that the shooting was real, it was too late to save him from legal action. Courts in Texas and Connecticut awarded the families massive damages.
In an effort to avoid payment, Jones and several of…