HARTFORD, CONN. • “Infowars” broadcaster and right-wing provocateur Alex Jones filed for personal bankruptcy in Texas on Friday, creating an obstacle for the relatives of Sandy Hook shooting victims trying to collect the nearly $1.5 billion they won in a suit against the conspiracy theorist for his claims that the school massacre was a hoax.

The voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition stops, at last temporarily, post-trial activity in Superior Court by Jones and the 15 people who sued him in Connecticut, notably efforts by the families to collect and stop Jones from hiding assets, and his attempts to reverse the verdict or reduce the damages award. Efforts to collect now shift to Bankruptcy Court.