YouTube will shell out more than $24 million to settle a lawsuit brought by President Donald Trump after his account was banned following the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol several years ago.
The settlement was reported on Monday by the Wall Street Journal, which cited court documents outlining the settlement. The deal closes the last of three cases Trump brought against major social media companies after leaving the White House.
According to court filings, $22 million of the YouTube settlement will be directed to the Trust for the National Mall, where it will be used to help fund a ballroom at the White House modeled after one at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort. The remaining $2.5 million will go to other plaintiffs in the case, including the American Conservative Union and writer Naomi Wolf. Google declined to comment.
The agreement adds to a string of legal victories for Trump since returning to office. Since last fall’s election, he has secured more than $80 million in settlements from lawsuits targeting technology and media companies. Paramount Global reached a $16 million deal in July tied to a dispute over a “60 Minutes” interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris.
Earlier this year, Meta Platforms agreed to pay $25 million and X, formerly known as Twitter, paid $10 million. Those cases were filed after the companies suspended Trump over posts that were said to violate their policies on violence and misinformation.
John P. Coale, an attorney and longtime Trump ally who filed the social media cases, said the settlements were influenced by Trump’s political comeback.
“If he had not been re-elected, we would have been in court for 1,000 years,” Coale said. “It was his re-election that made the difference.”
Mediation in the YouTube case took place at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate and nearby golf club, where Trump played a round with Alabama football coach Nick Saban before returning to talks with Google executives Sundar Pichai and Sergey Brin. Coale said Trump signed the settlement papers at the White House last week.
Trump continues to pursue lawsuits against media organizations, including the New York Times and Dow Jones, publisher of the Journal. A judge has already dismissed one case against the Times, and Dow Jones has asked the court to dismiss its case.
YouTube suspended Trump’s channel after the Capitol riot in 2021, saying it had removed videos that violated its policies against incitement. The platform reinstated his channel in March 2023.
YouTube is operated by Google, a subsidiary of Alphabet.
