It was the cringe-y child exploitation that swept the nation! The “USA Freedom Kids” burst onto the scene when they preceded a Donald Trump rally in Pensacola, Florida months ago.

The creepy auto-tuned song and the bedazzled children who performed it went viral in hours, with commentators comparing the performance to similar performances in North Korea and elsewhere.

For a while, the “Freedom Kids” were overjoyed with the national attention, but it appears that their adult handlers are none-too-pleased with the way the Trump campaign has treated them since.

Jeff Popick, father of the youngest Freedom Kid and writer of the infamous song “Freedom’s Call,” officially launched a lawsuit against the campaign on Tuesday for failing to uphold verbal agreements made to the group.

Popick details several times when he was told by the campaign that his group would be performing or would be able to advertise or sell merchandise at Trump events, though the campaign failed to uphold most of those agreements.

Popick says that the campaign invited the Freedom Kids to attend events with promises that they would be performing in front of massive crowds, but then backing out at the last minute. Then, they were given the run-around.

Said Popick:

“This is not a billion-dollar lawsuit. I’m doing this because I think they have to do the right thing. And if this means having to go through the court system to enforce them doing the right thing, then that’s what I have to do. I’m not looking to do battle with the Trump campaign, but I have to show my girls that this is the right thing.”

Poor Popick and his lil’ freedom fighters are soon to learn that when you try to do business with Donald Trump, you end up screwed.

Sydney Robinson is a political writer for the Ring of Fire Network. She has also appeared in political news videos for Ring of Fire. Sydney has a degree in English Literature from the University of West Florida, and has an active interest in politics, social justice, and environmental issues. She would love to hear from you on Twitter @SydneyMkay or via email at srobinson@ringoffireradio.com