But it also claims that Trump, Trump Jr., Giuliani and Brooks Washington, DC, violated laws, including an act of anti-terrorism, by inciting the riots, and that they helped and supported violent rioters and members of the Congress inflicted emotional distress.
“The defendants briefly convinced the mob that something was going on that – if true – could indeed justify violence, and then sent the mob to the Capitol with calls for immediate action,” the Washington, DC lawsuit said. federal district court, asserted.
Friday’s lawsuit could clash with freedom of speech protection for speakers during the rally, as well as the immunity Trump could try to claim he had when he served as president. All the elected officials in the case, including Trump, are named in their personal capacities in court, which means they will use private lawyers and not be protected by their public offices.
But if this lawsuit or Thompson were to continue, it would mean the former president and his allies would be subject to discovery and deposition, possibly exposing details and evidence that were not released during the Senate indictment.
New lawsuit alleges Trump, allies have encouraged riots
Swalwell, who was locked in the house during the siege, claims Trump, Trump Jr., Giuliani and Brooks led the attack on Congress with their repeated public allegations of voter fraud, their encouragement for supporters to come to DC on January 6, and in their speeches that day. Every man told the crowd that Joe Biden’s election certification could be blocked in Congress, and that Trump’s supporters should fight, according to the lawsuit.
“Trump directly incited the violence at the subsequent Capitol and then approvingly watched the building being raided,” the lawsuit said. “The horrific events of January 6 were a direct and foreseeable consequence of the unlawful conduct of the accused. As such, the accused are responsible for the injury and destruction that followed.”
In Trump’s own speech just before the siege began, he told the crowd to ‘show strength’ and ‘walk down Pennsylvania Avenue’.
Brooks, in his speech, declared ‘Today is the day that American patriots start taking pictures and kicking a hole’, he asks the rally participants if they are prepared to fight.
Giuliani said during the January 6 rally, “Let’s we have a fight,” and the crowd responded with cheers.
Trump Jr. said the crowd is a message to Republicans who are not fighting to reverse the outcome of the election.
“You can be a hero, or you can be a zero,” he said during the rally. “If you’re going to be the zero, and not the hero, we’ll come for you, and we’ll do well.
The lawsuit seeks to link the speeches directly to the crowd’s response.
“In what should have been a sign of how the crowd received the defendants’ allegations and allegations, spontaneous chants of ‘Fight for Trump! Fight for Trump!’ rose when Trump Jr. indulged in the alleged “screaming inconsistencies” and “statistical impossibilities” that allegedly made it possible for President Biden, “the lawsuit said.
Following the speeches during the pro-Trump rally, many people marched to the U.S. Capitol, with several violently breaking into the building and looking for lawmakers to confirm Biden’s victory over Trump in the 2020 election. Five people, including a U.S. police officer in the Capitol, have been killed.
Last month, Trump spokesman Jason Miller removed responsibility for the uprising in response to Thompson’s lawsuit.
“President Trump has been acquitted in the Democrats’ latest Impeachment Witch Hunt, and the facts are indisputable,” Miller said in a statement. “President Trump did not plan, produce or organize the January 6 demonstration at the Ellipse. President Trump did not incite or conspire on January 6 to incite any violence at the Capitol.”
Brooks and Giuliani took similar positions.
Brooks denied responsibility for the riot and told a radio presenter the day after the attack that he “absolutely” had no regrets. He later said in a statement: “Nobody during the rally interpreted my remarks as anything other than what they were: a pep talk after kicking Conservatives in the gloomy 2020 election.”
Court dealing with insurrection cases
The new lawsuit and Thompson’s claims are likely to go hand in hand in federal court in DC, possibly even before the same judge, Amit Mehta, appointed by Barack Obama. It could take months or even years to make decisions and move on while the same federal court hears criminal cases against about 300 suspected insurgents and other Trump supporters who came to Washington on Jan. 6.
Swalwell, in his lawsuit, is seeking a court order forcing Trump and his three allies to give at least seven days notice before holding an assembly of more than 50 people in DC or capitals in the United States on important election days. hold city. House member may have the opportunity to go to court to try to block the meetings.
Just like Thompson’s lawsuit, the second insurrection lawsuit is also claiming damages, but did not mention an amount.
After the riot, Swalwell served as a House Manager in Trump’s indictment. The Senate voted for acquittal, with 57 out of 100 senators convicting Trump a split that failed to reach the required two-thirds majority for conviction.
The use of the KKK act in court
Both the Thompson and Swalwell lawsuits could be challenged in court over their claims under the Ku Klux Klan Act.
According to Professor of Law of the University of Texas and analyst of the CNN High Court, Stephen Vladeck, the KKK statute has not been widely used.
“It was specifically intended to provide federal civil remedies for federal officers who were prevented from performing their duties by two or more individuals, whether federal officers in the South African Civil War, federal judges in unconstructed lower courts; or federal legislators, “Vladeck said last month.
“It is not at all difficult to see how the provision corresponds to what happened on January 6,” he added. “The more difficult question is whether Trump himself can be linked to that conspiracy.”
In the Thompson case, the Mississippi Democrat points to Trump’s words and tweets in the months leading up to the uprising to accuse Trump and Giuliani of mobilizing their supporters and preparing for an attack to prevent Congress from certify election results of 2020 on 6 January. , whose legal contours are handled by the NAACP, was the first civil action filed against the former president in connection with the January 6 attack.
It ended up in court in the days after Trump was acquitted by the Senate of inciting the siege.
In the Thompson case, Trump recently received formal notice that he was being sued.
According to a notice to the federal court filed this week, Trump received his subpoena in February by certified mail. It was sent to him at Mar-a-Lago and received there by a person named ‘Ricky’.
Filing a case is a standard procedure in any lawsuit, and nothing about Trump receiving the subpoena to respond to the case is unusual. However, the move begins proceedings so they can continue in court.
CNN’s Devan Cole and Jessica Schneider contributed to this report.