Former President Donald Trump has filed a $10 billion lawsuit against the BBC, claiming the broadcaster defamed him by misleadingly editing his January 6, 2021, speech at the White House Ellipse.
The lawsuit targets the 2024 documentary Trump: A Second Chance, which Trump’s legal team says stitched together separate parts of his remarks to make it appear he encouraged the Capitol riot.
“I’m suing the BBC for putting words in my mouth, literally,” Trump told reporters on Monday. “They actually put terrible words in my mouth having to do with January 6th that I didn’t say.”
Filed in federal court in Miami, the 33-page lawsuit seeks $5 billion for defamation and an additional $5 billion for alleged violations of Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. Trump’s attorneys described the documentary as “a brazen attempt to interfere in and influence” the 2024 election.
Last month, the BBC issued a formal apology but denied that it defamed Trump. The broadcaster’s director-general and news CEO resigned amid the controversy, while BBC chairman Samir Shah called the edit “an error of judgment.”
The documentary featured a clip of Trump saying: “We’re gonna walk down to the Capitol and I’ll be there with you and we fight. We fight like hell, and if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not gonna have a country anymore.” The clip, however, was a combination of three separate sections of his speech and excluded nearly an hour of content, including Trump’s call for peaceful action.
Additionally, the film used footage of the Proud Boys heading toward the Capitol before Trump’s address, suggesting his remarks had inspired their march.
Trump’s legal team is seeking a jury trial in the case.
