YouTube agrees to pay $24.5 million to settle Trump lawsuit: Court filing
YouTube has agreed to pay $24.5 million to settle a lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump and other plaintiffs after he was suspended from the platform in 2021, according to a court filing.
According to the filing, $22 million will be used to support Trump’s construction of a White House State Ballroom and will be held in a tax-exempt entity called the Trust for the National Mall.
Another $2.5 million will go to the other plaintiffs in the lawsuit -- including the American Conservative Union, Andrew Baggiani, Austen Fletcher, Maryse Veronica Jean-Louis, Frank Valentine, Kelly Victory and Naomi Wolf -- according to the filing.
"This Notice of Settlement and Stipulation of Dismissal shall not constitute an admission of liability or fault on the part of the Defendants or their agents, servants, or employees, and is entered into by all Parties for the sole purpose of compromising disputed claims and avoiding the expenses and risks of further litigation," the filing stated.
A spokesperson for Google, which owns YouTube, referred ABC News to the notice of settlement when contacted for comment on Monday.
YouTube suspended Trump's account following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, saying at the time that an uploaded video violated its policy for inciting violence. It restored Trump's channel more than two years later, citing that voters could "hear equally from major national candidates in the run-up to an election."
Trump's lawsuit alleged that YouTube prevented him from "exercising his constitutional right of free speech" by banning him indefinitely from the platform.
YouTube is the latest social media company to agree to settle with Trump this year over the suspension of his accounts following the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
In January, Meta agreed to settle with Trump by making a donation of $22 million to his presidential library and paying $3 million in legal fees, according to a letter from Meta's attorneys.
In February, X agreed to pay about $10 million to settle a lawsuit brought by Trump, the Wall Street Journal reported.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
