U.S. President Donald Trump addresses reporters on the South Lawn before boarding Marine One at the White House in Washington, D.C., on February 28, 2025.
Nathan Howard | Reuters
The Trump Organization filed a lawsuit against Capital One in Florida on Friday, claiming that the bank unjustly closed over 300 accounts in response to the January 6, 2021, riots at the U.S. Capitol involving supporters of President Donald Trump.
The lawsuit asserts that the Trump Organization and affiliated entities “reasonably believe that Capital One’s unilateral actions were driven by political and social motivations, as well as the bank’s unfounded, ‘woke’ ideology that necessitated distancing itself from President Trump and his conservative viewpoints.”
“Essentially, Capital One ‘de-banked’ the Plaintiffs’ accounts because it believed that the prevailing political climate warranted such an action,” the Trump Organization alleges in its civil filing with the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Court in Miami-Dade County.
The lawsuit seeks a declaratory judgment declaring that the bank improperly closed the Trump companies’ accounts in June 2021, alongside claims for punitive and other monetary damages for what the complaint describes as “the harmful effects” of these closures on the companies’ capabilities to conduct transactions and access funds.
The account closures occurred more than four months following the Capitol riot, which was incited after Trump repeatedly claimed that he had won the 2020 presidential election against former President Joe Biden.
The named plaintiffs in the lawsuit include the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, DJT Holdings, DJT Holdings Managing Member, DTTM Operations, and Eric Trump, the president’s son, who, along with his brother, Donald Trump Jr., manages the Trump Organization.
Eric Trump, son of former U.S. President Donald Trump, participates in the second day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 16, 2024.
Angela Weiss | AFP | Getty Images
The complaint states that the plaintiffs and affiliated entities maintained hundreds of accounts with Capital One for several decades before their closure. Eric Trump indicated that the damages incurred by the companies amount to “millions of dollars.”
Alejandro Brito, an attorney representing the Trump Organization in this case, informed CNBC that the company “is considering additional lawsuits against financial institutions that have engaged in similar behaviors.”
Brito asserted that Capital One’s actions represent “an assault on free speech.”
A spokesperson for the bank stated in an email to CNBC, “Capital One has never and will never close customer accounts for political reasons.”
The logo of consumer lending firm Capital One Financial Corp is visible at its headquarters on January 20, 2023, in McLean, Virginia.
Win Mcnamee | Getty Images News | Getty Images
In a statement, Eric Trump remarked, “Capital One’s decision to ‘debank’ our company, after over a decade, constitutes a blatant infringement on free speech and free enterprise, contradicting the foundational principles and freedoms that define our nation.”
“Additionally, the arbitrary closure of these accounts without valid justification underscores a larger effort to silence and undermine the achievements of the Trump Organization and those willing to express their political beliefs,” Eric Trump added.
