US President Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit against the British Broadcasting Corporation, accusing the public broadcaster of defamation over the way it edited his January 6, 2021, speech in a television documentary.

According to court filings made Monday, Trump is seeking a combined $10 billion in damages. The case was lodged in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida and includes a $5 billion defamation claim alongside a separate $5 billion claim alleging violations of Florida’s trade practices law.

Claims of misleading editing

Trump’s legal team argues that the BBC deliberately misrepresented his words in a documentary aired in the United Kingdom about a week before the 2024 US presidential election. The program focused on the events surrounding the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.

According to the lawsuit, the BBC edited portions of Trump’s speech to highlight his calls for supporters to march to the Capitol and to “fight like hell,” while excluding statements in which he urged the crowd to protest peacefully.

Speaking to reporters earlier on Monday, Trump said the broadcaster crossed a clear line.

“They put words in my mouth,” he said. “They had me saying things that I never said.”

BBC response and apology

In November, the BBC acknowledged an editing error in the Panorama documentary and issued an apology to Trump. The broadcaster admitted that two separate lines from his speech were spliced together in a way that could mislead viewers.

However, the BBC said it would not pay compensation and rejected the claim that the broadcast amounted to defamation. The corporation also denied that the documentary was intended to misrepresent Trump’s remarks.

BBC Director General Tim Davie and the organization’s senior news leadership have previously faced criticism over the broadcast, although the corporation has not accepted legal liability.

Legal and political context

Media law experts note that defamation cases involving public figures in the United States face a high legal threshold. Plaintiffs must show not only that a statement was false, but that it was made with actual malice. According to legal analysts, that standard often makes such lawsuits difficult to win, even when factual errors are acknowledged.

Trump has pursued similar legal actions in recent years. He previously filed defamation lawsuits against US broadcasters CBS and ABC, with both cases ending in multimillion dollar settlements, according to reports.

The BBC lawsuit adds to ongoing tensions between Trump and major media organizations, particularly over coverage of the January 6 events and the broader political climate surrounding the 2024 election.

The case is expected to draw close attention on both sides of the Atlantic as it moves through the US court system.