Jessica Marie Watkins (2nd from L) and Donovan Ray Crowl (Center), both from Ohio, walk down the eastern steps of the US Capitol with the military group Oath Keepers among supporters of US President Donald Trump in Washington, January 6 2021 Both have since been charged by federal authorities for their role in the siege of the American Capitol.
Jim Bourg | Reuters
Ten more Democratic members of Congress on Wednesday joined a federal lawsuit that accused former President Donald Trump, his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and several right-wing extremist groups of plotting to quell the deadly January 6 riots in the Capitol. hits.
The case, first reported by Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., And the NAACP filed filed accusing the defendants of violating a federal law by inciting violence with the aim of preventing Congress from confirming the election of President Joe Biden. The cited law, the Ku Klux Klan Act, was first used in the late 1800s to target the racist KKK for its violence against Black Americans and its intimidation of members of Congress from the South.
In addition to Trump and Giuliani, the case cites extremist groups the Oath Keepers, the Proud Boys and War Boys as accused.
The members of the House who joined the case are: California, Karen Bass, Barbara Lee and Maxine Waters; Steve Cohen of Tennessee; Bonnie Watson Coleman of New Jersey; Veronica Escobar of Texas; Hank Johnson Jr. of Georgia; Marcy Kaptur of Ohio; Jerry Nadler of New York; and Pramila Jayapal of Washington State.
An amended version of the lawsuit that the new members of the House are adding as plaintiffs, and making additional allegations, has been filed in U.S. District Court in Washington DC. It seeks a declaratory judgment that the accused violated the law by their conduct, an order against similar conduct future and unspecified financial damages.
The riot in the Capitol began shortly after Trump, Giuliani and other supporters of the then president addressed thousands of people during a protest outside the White House, urging people to help them fight Biden’s confirmation as president.
Trump and his lawyers have been falsely claiming for months that he was deceived from an election victory by a widespread vote fraud in several states.
Five people have been killed in the riot, including a Capitol police station Brian Sicknick.
The case accuses the accused of coordination in attempts to undermine the democratic election process and to block the legal votes of millions of ballots by black Americans.
“I, as a complainant, joined this complaint because the threat to the security of both our democracy and to me individually was blatantly and violently disregarded. There must be accountability for the violent disruption of our business and personal fears that have arisen,” said Watson Coleman in a statement.
A spokesman for Trump and Giuliani did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
During the invasion of the Capitol complex, Cohen began thinking by hundreds of rioters about where he would be buried if he were killed, and that he sat in his office for hours while holding a baseball bat. during the disorder.
It points out that Jayapal tested positive for Covid-19 for days after she and other members of the House sought refuge during a riot in a small room where some representatives did not want to wear masks.
And the case says that after realizing that she had managed to be injured or killed during the riot, Lee began finalizing plans for her estate after January 6th.
Thompson, in a statement, said: “I am delighted to be joined by ten of my colleagues in this critical effort to hold former President Trump, Rudy Giuliani, the Oath Watchers and Proud Boys responsible for their respective roles in the 6th January attack on the Capitol. ‘
“We owe it to our families, the American public and history to learn the truth about the conspiracy that a violent mob incited to enchant the Capitol in an effort to thwart the peaceful transfer of power. stand, “Thompson said.