In addition to denying the proposed deal, a federal judge told the Chapter 7 trustee that he was no longer authorized to sell Infowars' assets.

The decision complicates a proposed sale of Jones’ Infowars platform, and could spur divisions between families who sued Jones and won nearly $1.3 billion in Connecticut court cases and

A federal bankruptcy judge on Wednesday rejected a proposal to hold a second auction for assets owned by Alex Jones’ right-wing conspiracy website Infowars. “We’re not doing that any more,” Judge Christopher Lopez said in a hearing in Houston’s downtown courtroom.

The judge also shut down the future sale of Infowars' assets, leaving the trustee authorized to sell only the company’s equity.

The ruling by a U.S. bankruptcy judge in Houston further complicates how and when Jones' bankruptcy case will be resolved and when the families he defamed will be paid.

This is masterful, creative lawyering, but at its core it is something I can’t approve,” federal Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez said in his Texas courtroom