The Onion’s plan to take over the Infowars platforms that Alex Jones built into a bullhorn of conspiracy theories and turn them into parody sites was in limbo again Thursday, after a court paused a proposed deal involving the satirical news outlet.

Infowars is facing liquidation because of the more than $1 billion in defamation lawsuit judgments Jones owes relatives of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting for calling the massacre a hoax. The proposed deal would give The Onion temporary authority to use Infowars' trademarks, copyrights and intellectual property while a state receiver in Texas works toward liquidation.

A state judge had scheduled a hearing Thursday on whether to approve The Onion deal. But the proceeding turned into a status conference because the Texas Third Court of Appeals approved an emergency motion by Jones’ lawyers that temporarily blocked the transfer of any Infowars assets.…