By Jan Wolfe

WASHINGTON (Reuters] – Donald Trump, former President of the United States, cannot challenge his suspension from Twitter by a Florida federal judge. He must instead abide with the terms of service set forth by social media companies and sue California following a ruling.

Robert Scola, U.S. District Judge in Miami, stated in writing late Tuesday that Trump was subject to a “forum choice clause” Twitter Inc (NYSE: )’s terms of services, which stipulate that certain suits against the company must be heard in Federal Courts within the Northern District of California.

Trump’s social media power was eroded this year by companies claiming he had violated policies that prohibit glorifying violence.

On Jan. 6, a mob of Trump supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol. This attack was in response to a Trump speech, where he claimed that Trump’s election loss was due to widespread fraud. A claim which multiple courts and state election officials rejected, as well as members of Trump’s own administration,

Trump’s attorneys had claimed that Trump’s Twitter account was both a public forum and a government entity, and thus fell within the exception to Twitter’s forum selection clause.

Scola rejected this argument, saying the forum selection clause was “valid and mandatory, and that “Trump’s former status as the President of the United States does not preclude the application of the forum selection clause.”

John Coale was a Trump lawyer and said that the decision did not surprise him as forum selection clauses can often be held to have binding force.

Coale stated, “We believed this was a longshot right from the start.” We expected that California would be a good choice for us.

A different judge transferred a suit Trump filed against Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:) Inc’s YouTube earlier this month from Florida to California on the same grounds.

Trump brought a similar case against Twitter and YouTube in July alleging that the companies unlawfully muted conservative opinions. Another similar lawsuit was filed by Trump against YouTube and Twitter. Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:

In federal court, Miami filed the lawsuits claiming that the social media platforms based out of California infringed on the First Amendment of U.S. Constitution.