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CNN
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On Wednesday morning, conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ infamous Infowars media empire will be auctioned off in a court-ordered sale, and at least one bid is approaching seven figures, a person familiar with the matter told CNN.

That offer comes from a person described as an “ally” of Jones, who wants the host to continue broadcasting on the Infowars platform he founded under new ownership, the person said. It was not immediately clear who had placed the bid.

Jones has said several times that his supporters are placing bids on his company, which is being auctioned off to help pay the more than $1 billion he owes to the families of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims. Jones was found guilty of defamation by juries in Texas and Connecticut for using his Infowars megaphone to falsely claim the massacre was a hoax.

Over the years, Jones has used the media platform not only to spread vile lies and conspiracy theories, but also to enrich himself to the tune of millions of dollars. But the seven-figure offer from a Jones ally raises the prospect that a well-funded third-party buyer could buy the company only to install Jones as host and effectively return control to him.

Everything from the platform’s studio equipment, online nutritional supplement store, Terradyne armored vehicle, Winnebago camper and social media accounts are up for sale to the highest bidder.

“I saw the auctioneers going around the building doing searches from the last time they were here to make sure all the stuff was here,” Jones said on his show Monday. ‘Now good people are saying they’re going to buy it. If the good people buy it, Infowars will continue.”

Among those Jones considers “good guys” interested in buying Infowars is Roger Stone, a longtime political adviser to newly elected President Donald Trump, according to the person familiar with the matter. Stone did not respond to a request for comment. The AP first reported that Stone was interested in the auction.

But if “bad guys” buy Infowars, as Jones put it Monday, after Wednesday’s auction he will “keep airing until they show up” and close the marginal outlet. If that happens, Jones said he will move to a new social media account called AJNLive to continue his online rants.

“A new studio has been set up, satellite connections, servers, equipment, legal, everything. Keep fighting because they will keep coming after us,” he said, imploring his fans to continue purchasing his products to help fund his next iteration.

No matter what happens with Infowars or where Jones ultimately comes from, he will still continue to pay debts to the Sandy Hook families until he pays off his debts. An attorney representing Jones declined to comment.

Among those at the other end of the spectrum who have expressed interest in buying Infowars is satirical news site The Onion, people familiar with the matter told CNN.

Onion CEO Ben Collins was previously a journalist at NBC, where he reported extensively on disinformation and conspiracy theorists, including Jones and Infowars. When a social media user wrote in June that Collins had the chance to “do the funniest thing ever” and buy Infowars, Collins responded with a screenshot of a post from Elon Musk saying, “I’m looking at it.” Representatives for The Onion did not respond to requests for comment.

The Barbed Wire, a progressive Texas-based outlet, said it planned to bid on the Infowars auction but ultimately decided against it. “We are grateful to have raised thousands of dollars from several hundred supporters for this effort. But we have spoken to a number of similarly ideologically aligned bidders and we are confident we will be outbid by those in the six- and seven-figure range,” the outlet said in a statement on Tuesday.

Left-wing media watchdog group Media Matters had also expressed interest in bidding for the outlet, Semafor reported in September.

Bidders had to put down 10% of an initial bid and sign a non-disclosure agreement, according to the terms of auction house ThreeSixty Asset Advisors. Anything not sold by Wednesday will be available for public auction in December.

“The outcome will be submitted to the court immediately following the conclusion of the auction process,” a company representative told CNN.

Earlier this fall, attorneys representing some Sandy Hook families expressed hope that the auction would mark the end of Jones’ control of the platform, calling it an “important step forward.”

“This brings the families closer to their goal of holding him accountable for the harm he caused,” said Christopher Mattei, an attorney representing some families in Connecticut.