Four and a half years after YouTube prohibited Donald Trump’s channel following the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, the platform agreed to compensate him with $24.5 million, intended for the construction of a new ballroom at the White House.

Trump initiated legal action after his channel was terminated shortly following his supporters breaching the Capitol in the wake of his electoral loss to Joe Biden. YouTube asserted that the material on Trump’s channel could incite further violence. Despite YouTube restoring Trump’s account in 2023, he persisted with the lawsuit.

The bulk of the settlement, $22 million, will be allocated for the establishment of a new ballroom at the White House as per Trump’s request. The remaining $2.5 million will be awarded to the Plaintiffs American Conservative Union, an organization that also took legal action against YouTube after Trump’s channel was removed.

Trump has effectively sued tech firms that censored him after he encouraged his supporters to “fight like hell” prior to the Capitol insurrection. Meta disbursed $25 million, and X provided roughly $10 million following the suspension of his accounts.

In a similar vein, Disney compensated Trump with $15 million for his prospective presidential library after he filed a defamation suit related to an interview conducted by George Stephanopoulos for ABC News. Paramount Global resolved a lawsuit with Trump for $16 million concerning a story that did not pertain directly to him, as he contested an interview involving then-Vice President Kamala Harris.

Trump is presently litigating against the Wall Street Journal over articles concerning his associations with Jeffrey Epstein. He also filed a lawsuit against the New York Times regarding articles during the 2024 election, but a judge recently dismissed that case, deeming it “improper.”