Trump sues Facebook to get his account access back immediately while lawsuit proceeds

EXCLUSIVE — Former President Donald Trump asked a federal judge Thursday to force Facebook to reinstate him as he seeks to use the social media giant to influence elections in 2022 — and possibly a 2024 bid of his own.

Trump, banned from most major social media platforms for his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riots , brought a class-action lawsuit in July alleging censorship by Facebook , Twitter , and Google's YouTube , along with their respective CEOs Mark Zuckerberg , Jack Dorsey, and Sundar Pichai. Thursday's filing, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, was for a preliminary injunction on Facebook’s ban while he continues to try to get permanent access.

“This preliminary injunction against Facebook seems appropriate to file this week since they’ve been big in the news lately for all the issues they’re facing,” said John Coale, lead counsel of the Trump lawsuits against Big Tech companies. Constitutional Litigation Partnership, a legal entity created by Trump and his allies earlier this year, supports the lawsuit.