Trump Appeals Dismissal of Twitter Lawsuit

The suspended Twitter account of President Donald Trump appears on a laptop screen on Jan. 8, 2021. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Former President Donald Trump is appealing a lawsuit dismissal against his Twitter ban, handed down by a U.S. District judge early last month.

In his latest move to fight against the tech company, according to Bloomberg, Trump filed a notice of appeal in San Francisco federal court on June 27 and said he will take his case to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The former president has said he has no plans to return to the social media platform, despite Elon Musk saying he'd reverse the ban if his bid to buy Twitter is successful.

Trump had accused Twitter of violating his First Amendment free speech rights by permanently de-platforming his account two days after the Jan. 6 Capital incident, asserting it was under the demand of Democrat lawmakers.

He first brought lawsuits challenging the bans on July 7, 2021, including those from Google and Facebook, asking for an immediate halt to social media companies’ alleged shadow banning and censoring of political viewpoints outside the mainstream.

“It’s destroying the country,” Trump said.

Former President Donald Trump speaks to supporters during a rally at the I-80 Speedway in Greenwood, Neb., on May 1, 2022. Scott Olson/Getty Images

Last Month’s Ruling

Judge James Donato ruled last month that Trump hadn’t shown Twitter was acting as a government censor when it suspended his account citing policy violation. He wrote in a court file that the First Amendment doesn’t apply to private companies, adding that the former president is “not starting from a position of strength.”

Facebook said in June last year that it may allow Trump to use Facebook and Instagram again in January 2023, while YouTube stated earlier that it will lift its ban when the “risk of violence has decreased.”

Trump’s appeal comes on the same day that Digital World Acquisition Corp.—a special purpose acquisition company that plans to merge with Trump’s media group Trump Media & Technology Group Corp, the creator of Truth Social—announced that its board of directors had received subpoenas from federal prosecutors over the plans.

The merger between the two would provide Truth Social with $1.3 billion in capital and make it a publicly-traded company, named Trump Media & Technology Group Corp, on the Nasdaq.