Trump Media & Technology Group and Rumble, a conservative-focused social media platform, have filed a lawsuit against Brazil Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. The legal action, initiated on Wednesday in a Tampa, Florida, federal court, accuses Justice de Moraes of engaging in unauthorized censorship activities. At the center of the dispute is a politically vocal user of Rumble whose U.S.-based accounts were reportedly suspended by order of Justice de Moraes.
The lawsuit asserts that the suspension was an effort to silence the user's political views, alleging that Justice de Moraes took illegal steps to stifle free speech. This action is connected to a previous conflict involving Elon Musk and Justice de Moraes concerning Musk's social media enterprise, X. Trump Media's platform, Truth Social, is also implicated in the lawsuit, highlighting its reliance on Rumble's services for delivering multimedia content.
"relies on Rumble's cloud-based hosting and video streaming infrastructure to deliver multimedia content to its user base" – attributed to the lawsuit
According to the lawsuit, the suspension of the user's accounts represents a broader attempt by Justice de Moraes to censor politically-charged discourse. The legal document underscores the importance of maintaining open channels for political expression, particularly on platforms like Rumble and Truth Social, which cater to conservative audiences.
This legal confrontation stems from ongoing tensions between Trump Media and Justice de Moraes, exacerbated by last year's clash involving Elon Musk. During that period, Justice de Moraes reportedly made attempts to regulate content on Musk's social media platform, contributing to the current legal dispute.