Seven US Capitol police officers, who were attacked and beaten during the January 6 riot, are to sue former President Donald Trump, his allies, and extremists groups.
“We’re suing Donald Trump, Roger Stone, the Proud Boys & more for their role in the Jan. 6 insurrection. That was an attack on democracy, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law said in a tweet.
“It was a blatant attempt to stifle the votes & voices of millions of Americans, particularly Black voters”, it added.
According to a press statement on Thursday: then-President Trump, following his loss in the 2020 presidential election, worked with white supremacists, violent extremist groups, and campaign supporters to violate the Ku Klux Klan Act, and commit acts of domestic terrorism in an unlawful effort to stay in power, alleges a civil rights lawsuit filed Thursday by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, on behalf of a diverse group of seven veteran U.S. Capitol Police officers
The lawsuit names Donald J. Trump in his personal capacity, the Trump Campaign, Roger Stone, the Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers, and Stop the Steal as defendants, as well as other individuals and members of Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, and the Three Percenters, the statement read.
“As this lawsuit makes clear, the Jan. 6 insurrection was not just an attack on individuals, but an attack on democracy itself. It was a blatant attempt to stifle the votes and voices of millions of Americans, particularly Black voters,” said Damon Hewitt, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.
“For months after the 2020 election had been officially called, former President Trump and his associates made coordinated and systematic attempts to lodge their false claims of election fraud, targeted toward major cities with significant populations of voters of color. The lies of this conspiracy intentionally energized white supremacists and violent extremist groups and actively encouraged them to coordinate the violent attack on the Capitol. These actions put our clients in harm’s way to defend the votes and voices the conspiracy was intended to silence,” Hewitt added in the statement.
The seven plaintiffs collectively have over 150 years of service protecting Congress so that it can fulfill its constitutional responsibilities safely and openly, the statement read. On Jan. 6, they endured hours of hand-to-hand combat as attackers spat on them, tear-gassed them, bear-sprayed them, beat them, tackled them, and hurled racial slurs and epithets at them. These courageous officers risked their lives to protect and defend our democracy that day, and they paid a high price. The plaintiffs and many of their colleagues have suffered significant physical, psychological, and emotional injuries that persist to this day, it continued.
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