Several Sandy Hook families may make a second attempt to take over conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ media empire, their attorney said.

Late Tuesday night, a bankruptcy judge denied their first bid – a partnership with The Onion, a satirical newspaper, to turn Infowars into a parody site.

The Onion – backed by eight Sandy Hook families – won Infowars in a bankruptcy auction last month. Jones declared bankruptcy after losing a $1 billion defamation lawsuit brought by victim’ families.

But there was a catch.

Jones’ allies actually bid more money – twice as much as The Onion, in fact. But the families sweetened The Onion’s offer by agreeing to waive their auction proceeds, freeing up $100,000 more for other creditors.

“Only two people showed up to bid and … one was just better than the other,” bankruptcy trustee Christopher Murray testified at a hearing.

But late Tuesday night, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez canceled The Onion’s purchase. He said the auction wasn’t transparent enough and “left a lot of money on the table” for Sandy Hook families.

“You got to scratch and claw and get everything you can for them,” Lopez said.

Moments after the ruling, Jones praised the judge for “doing the right thing” and claimed the bidding process was rigged.

“They changed it twice in the last week, after filings they already had of the ‘magic money’ that didn’t exist,” he said on Infowars.

But Lopez rejected Jones' claim, saying that everyone in the auction “put their best foot forward and tried to play within the rules.”

The ruling allows Jones to keep Infowars – at least for now. But the Sandy Hook families still hope to partner with a buyer to take the platform over.

“It’s an important goal of theirs. It’s one form of accountability, as is the money that they're owed,” said the families’ attorney, Chris Mattei. “We are open to supporting any buyer who is going to be aligned with our objectives here, which is to maximize accountability for Alex Jones.”

Lopez gave the bankruptcy trustee 30 days to determine a new way to sell Infowars, but said he did not want another auction.

“One way to do that is with an auction,” said Mattei. “Another way to do that is to seek out buyers and do a private sale.”

The Onion appears interested in trying again, too.

“We are deeply disappointed in today’s decision, but The Onion will continue to seek a resolution that helps the Sandy Hook families receive a positive outcome for the horror they endured,” Ben Collins, CEO of The Onion’s parent company, Global Tetrahedron, posted on social media late Tuesday.