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The Onion had been named the winning bidder on Nov. 14 over a company affiliated with Jones, whose conspiracy theory platform was put up for sale as part of his bankruptcy case stemming from the nearly $1.5 billion that courts have ordered him to pay over falsely calling one of the deadliest school shootings in US history a hoax.
The decision by US Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez of Houston to not approve the sale means Jones can stay at his Infowars headquarters in Austin, Texas. The Onion had planned to kick Jones out and relaunch Infowars in January as a parody.
"We are deeply disappointed in today's decision, but The Onion will continue to seek a resolution that helps the Sandy Hook families receive a positive outcome for the horror they endured," Ben Collins, CEO of The Onion's parent company, Global Tetrahedron, posted on social media late Tuesday.
Lopez cited problems - but no wrongdoing - with the auction process. He said he did not want another auction and left it up to the trustee who oversaw the auction to determine the next steps.
The Onion offered $1.75 million in cash and other incentives for Infowars' assets in the auction. First United American Companies, which runs a website in Jones' name that sells nutritional supplements, bid $3.5 million.
The bids were a fraction of the money that Jones has been ordered to pay in defamation lawsuits in Connecticut and Texas filed by relatives of victims of the Sandy Hook shooting. Lopez said the auction outcome "left a lot of money on the table" for families. "You got to scratch and claw and get everything you can for them," Lopez said.
Christopher Mattei, a lawyer for the Sandy Hook families who sued Jones in Connecticut, said they were disappointed in the judge's ruling.
"These families, who have already persevered through countless delays and roadblocks, remain resilient and determined as ever to hold Alex Jones and his corrupt businesses accountable for the harm he has caused," Mattei said in a statement. "This decision doesn't change the fact that, soon, Alex Jones will begin to pay his debt to these families and he will continue doing so for as long as it takes."
Jones, who did not attend the proceedings, quickly went back on the air to applaud the judge's decision. "We can celebrate the judge doing the right thing with the most ridiculous, fraudulent auction known in human history," he said.
Trustee Christopher Murray had defended The Onion's bid during a lengthy two-day hearing in Houston, testifying that he did not favor either bidder over the other and was not biased. He also revealed that First United American submitted a revised bid in recent days, but he said he could not accept it because the Sandy Hook families in the Connecticut lawsuit objected.
The Onion valued its bid, with the Sandy Hook families' offer, at $7 million because that amount was equal to a purchase price that would provide the same amount of money to the other creditors.
In a court filing last month, Murray's lawyers called First United American's request to disqualify The Onion's bid a "disappointed bidder's improper attempt to influence an otherwise fair and open election process."
Jones' attorney, Ben Broocks, noted that the Sandy Hook lawsuit judgments could be overturned in pending appeals and got Murray to acknowledge that the Sandy Hook families' offer in The Onion bid could fall apart if that happens. That's because the percentage of the auction proceeds they would be entitled to could drop sharply and they wouldn't get the $750,000 from the sale to give to other creditors.
Auctioneer Jeff Tanenbaum on Monday defended both the value of the bid and its selection.
Jones is appealing the money he has been ordered to pay in judgments citing free speech rights.
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