The White Stripes drop Trump’s Seven Nation Army lawsuit

In two months to sue President-elect Donald Trump and his campaign for unauthorized use of their song”Army of the Seven Nations,” the musical duo behind White stripes refused the claim.

Jack and Meg White, who disbanded the band in 2011, voluntarily dismissed the copyright infringement lawsuit, according to a filing Sunday in New York federal court that was reviewed by USA TODAY on Monday. The reason was not given.

A representative for Jack and Meg White declined to comment.

On August 29, Jack White threatened Trump with legal action after his 2024 presidential campaign’s deputy communications director, Margot Martin, allegedly posted a video of Trump boarding a plane to the tune of the iconic 2003 song “Army of the Seven Nationswhich begins with a very recognizable guitar riff.

“Oh… Don’t even think about using my music, you fascists,” White signed the post with a screen recording of Martin’s video. “A lawsuit from my lawyers on this (to add to your 5k others). Have a nice day at work today, Margot Martin.”

More than a week later, The White Stripes sued Trump, his campaign, and Martin for “egregious misappropriation of the then-presidential candidate’s music composition and sound recording ‘Seven Nation Army’.”

The song was used in the video to “enhance defendant Trump’s public image and obtain financial and other support for his campaign and candidacy at the expense of plaintiffs whose permission and approval he did not seek or obtain, in violation of their rights under federal copyright law.” , – the court complaint states.

The use of the song was “even more offensive” because the White Stripes “strongly oppose the policies and actions taken by the defendant Trump while he was president and those he nominated for his desired second term,” the duo argued. Trump and his campaign “chose to ignore and fail to respond” to The White Stripes’ concerns about Martin’s video, the lawsuit says.

Jack and Meg White mentioned in their filing that they have long opposed Trump; in 2016 they are issued a statement saying they were “abhorred by this association” after a pro-Trump video used “Seven Nation Army”. Jack White went to rebuke with a new product with the slogan “Icky Trump”, which was a play on the title of their 2007 album “Icky Thump”.

Trump promisedretribution“in recent years and vowed to persecute his political enemies and critics during the second presidential term. Some of his allies offered the president-elect won’t actually go after people he’s named over the years, including President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).