The rock group The White Stripes have filed suit against GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump’s campaign for its use of the band’s megahit ‘Seven Nation Army’ in a since-deleted campaign video.
Lead singer and guitarist Jack White posted the front cover of the suit, filed in New York District Court, to his Instagram page Tuesday, with the caption, ‘This machine sues fascists.’ It’s a reference to words that folk singer Woody Guthrie wrote on his guitar, ‘This machine kills fascists.’
White Stripes drummer Meg White is also listed as a plaintiff in the suit, which charges Trump and the campaign with ‘flagrant misappropriation.’ The duo seek unspecified monetary damages and an injunction preventing Trump from using their songs.
A Trump campaign spokesperson, as well as a legal representative for the former president, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Jack White had foreshadowed the suit in an Instagram post a week ago after a Trump campaign staffer posted the video to social media Aug. 29, writing on Instagram: “Don’t even think about using my music you fascists. Law suit coming from my lawyers about this (to add to your 5 thousand others).”
In the suit, the band notes it had previously “publicly denounced” Trump’s use of the same song during his 2016 campaign, adding they “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 White Stripes join a list of performers taking legal action against Trump for unauthorized use of their music that includes Abba, Isaac Hayes, Eddy Grant, Neil Young, Beyoncé and Celine Dion.
Released in 2003, “Seven Nation Army” has gone on to become a worldwide smash. Despite its garage-rock origins, the song is now regularly heard in sports arenas and became the unofficial anthem of Italy’s national soccer team.
