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President Donald Trump’s media company, Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), has joined streaming platform Rumble in filing a lawsuit seeking relief from gag orders imposed by Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, citing an anonymous Rumble user whose free speech rights have allegedly been targeted.
According to a press release from TMTG, the lawsuit was filed in federal court in Tampa, Florida, and seeks to lift gag orders placed on an individual on the Rumble platform which the company claims “clearly intended to suppress the political opinions of a Rumble user,” and arguing that such an order violates both TMTG’s and Rumble’s “commitment to free speech and – if enforced in the United States – violate the First Amendment as well as other laws.”
TMTG is the parent company to the free speech social networking site Truth Social. The site uses Rumble’s cloud-based hosting and video streaming resources, as noted in the lawsuit, which is why TMTG is concerned that such an order against Rumble could immediately affect Truth Social.
TMTG Chairman and CEO Devin Nunes said in a statement, “TMTG is firmly committed to upholding the right to free expression. This is not just a slogan, it’s the core mission of this company. We’re proud to join our partner Rumble in standing against unjust demands for political censorship regardless of who makes them.”
The lawsuit hinges on the accusation that a Brazilian political commentator – who has remained unnamed at this point – has been suspended by Moraes. This anonymous individual, according to TMTG’s press statement, is based in the United States.
It is worth noting that Moraes is the same Brazilian judge who previously suspended Elon Musk’s X platform in his country for spreading supposed hate speech, according to Politico.
Per the outlet, Trump’s lawyers argued that an executive order signed by the 47th president related to imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court “rejects foreign judicial attempts to impose their legal standards extraterritorially.”
From the press release:
“Moraes’s gag orders demand the suspension and prohibit the creation of accounts, require Rumble to turn over account-holder information, impose daily fines, and compel potential shutdowns of Rumble. Compliance with the gag orders would directly harm TMTG—whose global online platform Truth Social is powered by Rumble servers.”
The lawsuit itself argues that the current gag orders in this scenario “censor legitimate political discourse in the United States.”
It also alleges that Morae’s orders have “become routine” and have compelled American online service providers “to ban politically outspoken users across their entire platform, including in the United States, based on allegations of ‘criminal’ or ‘anti-democratic speech,’ all while threatening hefty daily fines or outright shutdowns.”
Ultimately, Rumble and TMTG’s lawsuit stated that both companies seek a judgment declaring Morae’s orders “unenforceable” and strongly argue that “extraterritorial dictates nor judicial overreach from abroad can override the freedoms protected by the U.S. Constitution and law.”