As we just noted, attorneys for Jones have claimed that the defamation lawsuit was filed as part of a strategy to silence Jones' free speech on matters of public interest.

"[T]his suit is only the latest in Plaintiffs' efforts to silence those who openly oppose their very public 'herculean' efforts to ban the sale of certain weapons, ammunition and accessories, to pass new laws relating to gun registration and to limit free speech," Jones' lawyers said in a motion to dismiss the suit filed earlier this month.

Chapter 11 bankruptcy procedures are often used by companies (California utility PG&E is one memorable example, Oxycontin maker Purdue Pharmaceuticals is another) to pause civil litigation matters and allow companies to prepare turnaround plans while continuing to operate.

Jones has already offered to personally pay $120K to each of the families involved in the lawsuit to settle it, but his offer has been rejected.

It appears Infowars is already in a precarious financial state, as filings submitted Sunday listed its estimated assets in the range of $0-$50,000 and estimated liabilities in the range of $1 million to $10 million.