White Stripes sue former President Donald Trump, campaign over song use

The White Stripes are suing former President Donald Trump over the use of their music.

The former Detroit bandmates and former couple Jack and Meg White filed a civil lawsuit Monday out of a federal court in New York claiming copyright infringement by the Republican nominee for president, his campaign and a deputy communications director over the use of the song “Seven Nation Army” in videos posted to social media.

The filing follows a threat last month from rocker Jack White that he would do just that.

On Aug. 29, White bashed Trump on Instagram and shared a video posted to the social media platform X by Margo Martin, Trump's deputy director of communications. In the video, Trump boards a plane while a clip of "Seven Nation Army" plays. The video caption read: "President @realDonaldTrump departs for Michigan and Washington!"

On Monday, White acknowledged the lawsuit with a screenshot posted to Instagram and the caption “This machine sues fascists." It echoed sentiments he posted at the time in August.

The Trump campaign could not immediately be reached for comment Monday evening.

The video also no longer appeared present on Martin's X account.

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The video was shared on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Instagram and possibly other platforms, the lawsuit claimed. It also garnered at least 65,000 views and 700 reposts within a few hours after appearing on X.

The use of the song was "even more offensive" because the White Stripes "vehemently oppose the policies adopted and actions taken by Defendant Trump when he was President and those he has proposed for the second term he seeks," the lawsuit states. It cited that the duo had in 2016 said they were "disgusted by that association" regarding the use of their work in pro-Trump videos.

The lawsuit also stated that the Trump campaign had failed to respond to efforts to resolve the most recent concern without litigation.

The lawsuit calls for a jury trial. It also asks for injunctive relief to keep their work from being used again, and asks for damages and profits the campaign earned from the song’s use.

The legal effort follows a ruling last week by a federal judge in Atlanta that Trump and his campaign can no longer use the late Isaac Hayes' song "Hold On, I'm Comin'" after a copyright objection by his family.

A number of artists have demanded the campaign not use their songs at rallies, USA Today reports . These include Sinéad O'Connor's estate , Prince's estate , The Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr , Brendon Urie of Panic! at the Disco and the family of Tom Petty .

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: White Stripes sue former President Donald Trump, campaign over song use