Former President Trump files class actions lawsuits against big tech companies and their CEOs claiming he is a victim of censorship.
On Wednesday, former President Trump announced he is suing Facebook, Twitter, and Google, at a press conference at his New Jersey golf club in Bedminster.
He announced he will be filing class-action lawsuits against Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, who Trump called “real nice guys” in a sarcastic tone.
“We’re asking the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida to order an immediate halt to social media company’s illegal, shameful censorship of the American people. And that’s exactly what they’re doing,” said Trump.
He added, “We’re demanding an end to the shadow banning a stop to the silencing and a stop to the blacklisting, banishing and canceling that, you know, so well.”
Trump stated that his ban from popular social media sites is, “Unlawful, it’s unconstitutional, and it’s completely un-American.”
This comes after Trump was kicked off Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, shortly after the January 6th Capitol Insurrection, which many believed his words on social media incited the attack. The former president is permanently banned from using Twitter. For Facebook, Trump is suspended from using the account, however, if he is no longer a “risk to public safety” his account could be restored in 2023. He is also banned from YouTube, which is formally owned by Google.
“There is no better evidence that big tech is out of control than the fact that they banned the sitting President of the United States earlier this year. A ban that continues to this day continues,” argued Trump. He addressed the American people saying, “If they can do it to me, they can do it to anyone. And in fact, that is exactly what they’re doing.”
During the press conference, Trump discussed the stories of the other “brave Patriots” with him on stage and their experiences with censorship. He stated that all those on stage with him will be included in the lawsuit, along with “thousands more.”
Trump made clear that “We’re going to hold big tech, very accountable. This is the first of numerous other lawsuits I assume that would follow. But this is the lead and I think it’s going to be a very, very important game-changer for our country.”
The former President claimed that the companies violated his First Amendment Right by censoring him, stating that this will be a “pivotal battle.”
He stated that through this lawsuit, “We are standing up for American democracy by standing up for free speech rights of every American Democrat, Republican, independent whoever it may be. This lawsuit is just the beginning.”
This announcement comes just one week after Trump’s former company the Trump Organization and the CFO Allen Weisselberg got charged with tax-related crimes.