Neil Young Sues Trump Fundraising Group Again Over ‘Rockin’ in the Free World’

Neil Young filed a copyright infringement lawsuit on Monday, October 26, 2026, against Trump 47 Committee Inc., a political fundraising arm tied to Donald Trump, demanding $10 million in damages. The complaint claims the committee played Young’s 1989 song “Rockin’ in the Free World” without a license just before Trump appeared onstage at a midterm election campaign rally in Youngstown, Ohio, on October 12, 2026.

• Lawsuit filed: Monday, October 26, 2026
• Court: U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia
• Damages sought: $10 million, plus an injunction, costs, and attorney’s fees
• Young’s attorneys: Robert Besser and Scott Simmons

Why Neil Young Says Trump Was on Notice

This is not the first time Young has taken legal action over Trump’s use of the track. In 2020, he sued Trump’s reelection campaign committee, Donald J. Trump for President, Inc., over its use of both “Rockin’ in the Free World” and another Young composition, “Devil’s Sidewalk,” at campaign stops including a rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Young’s new filing states that the 2020 case ended quickly because the campaign “asserted no defense and immediately settled shortly after it was served,” and had pledged it would never again use “Rockin’ in the Free World” without obtaining a license and Young’s consent. Young’s legal team argues that promise makes the committee’s alleged use of the song in Youngstown a deliberate violation rather than an oversight.

Court records show the earlier dispute was filed in Manhattan federal court in August 2020, with Young seeking the maximum statutory penalty for willful infringement, which is capped at $150,000 per work. That case closed in December 2020 through a stipulated dismissal with prejudice, though neither side confirmed publicly at the time that a settlement had been reached.

What the Complaint Says About Trump’s Knowledge

The new lawsuit asserts that, on information and belief, Trump was personally aware a license was required to use the song and knew Young had never granted one and would not do so. Trump is not named individually as a defendant in the case; instead, the complaint lists the Trump 47 Committee Inc. alongside five unidentified “Doe” defendants that Young says he intends to name as the case moves forward.

Beyond the $10 million damages claim, Young is asking the court for an injunction that would bar the Trump 47 Committee from using “Rockin’ in the Free World” or any other song he has written, in addition to covering his legal costs and attorney’s fees. The filing does not lay out how the $10 million figure was calculated.

How Neil Young Describes the Song in the Lawsuit

Young’s complaint characterizes “Rockin’ in the Free World” as a sharp commentary on the gap between political rhetoric and the struggles of people living in poverty, homelessness, and addiction, calling it “a blistering anthem that contrasts the hollow promises of American political rhetoric with the harsh realities faced by the poor, homeless and forgotten.” The filing goes further, stating plainly that “the Song is the opposite of everything that Donald J. Trump stands for.”

A Decade-Long Conflict Over the Song

Young’s objections to Trump using the song trace back to June 2015, when Trump played it during the Trump Tower event announcing his first presidential campaign. Young’s management publicly pushed back at the time, pointing out that Young, then a Canadian citizen, had thrown his support behind Bernie Sanders. Young became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2020, after that first dispute over the song had already begun.

More Info

• Neil Young Sues Trump for Using Rockin in the Free World at Rally: The Opposite of Everything Donald J. Trump Stands For | The Hollywood Reporter Music
• Neil Young Sues Trump for $10 Million Over Use of Rockin in the Free World | Consequence
• Neil Young Hits Trump With $10M Lawsuit for Playing ‘Rockin’ in the Free World’ at Rally —Again | Billboard
• Neil Young files $10m lawsuit against Donald Trump over use of Rockin’ In The Free World at rally | Louder / Classic Rock
• Neil Young Files $10 Million Suit Against Trump for Using Rockin in the Free World, Six Years After a Prior Settlement Over the Same Song | Variety Music
• Neil Young sues Trump fundraising committee for $10M over ‘Rockin’ in the Free World’ – six years after his first lawsuit over the song | musicbusinessworldwide.com
• Neil Young Sues Trump Committee for $10 Million Over Use of Rockin in the Free World | Rolling Stone
• Neil Young sues Donald Trump again for illegal use of “Rockin’ In The Free World” | pastemagazine.com