On Thursday, U.S. Capitol Police officers filed a lawsuit against Trump, his allies and members of far-right extremist groups over the January 6 capitol insurrection. The group of officers accused Trump of conspiring with his supporters to disrupt the certification of the presidential election results.
According to ABC News, the suit was filed by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law on behalf of seven officers who were attacked and beaten during the riots. The suit alleges that the former president, his allies Roger Stone and Ali Alexander and members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers violated the Ku Klux Klan Act and committed acts of domestic terrorism in an unlawful effort to stay in power.
From ABC:
The filing provides vivid accounts of the injuries the officers sustained while trying to fend off the mob as rioters pushed past lines of overwhelmed law enforcers and barged into the Capitol. One officer, Jason DeRoche, was hit with batteries and sprayed with mace and bear spray until his eyes were swollen shut. A second officer, Governor Latson, was inside the Senate chamber when the rioters broke through the doors and beat him as they shouted racial slurs, according to the suit.
“We joined the Capitol Police to uphold the law and protect the Capitol community,” the group of officers said in a statement released by their lawyers. “On Jan. 6 we tried to stop people from breaking the law and destroying our democracy. Since then our jobs and those of our colleagues have become infinitely more dangerous. We want to do what we can to make sure the people who did this are held accountable and that no one can do this again.”
Two similar cases have been filed by Democratic members of Congress, both alleging that the violent siege injured dozens of officers and threatened lawmakers.
The House of Representatives has already been investigating the events on January 6, forming a committee to discover just how the mob was able to infiltrate the capitol and federal buildings. They’ve already requested, as of Wednesday, for telecommunications companies to preserve several people’s phone records, and called for materials from the departments of Defense, Justice, Homeland Security and Interior, FBI, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. They have also interviewed numerous Capitol officers.
And Trump, of course, is not happy about any of this.
From ABC News:
A House committee has started in earnest to investigate what happened that day, sending out requests Wednesday for documents from intelligence, law enforcement and other government agencies. Their largest request so far was made to the National Archive for information on Trump and his former team.
Trump accused the committee of violating “long-standing legal principles of privilege” but his team had no immediate comment on Thursday’s lawsuit.
“Executive privilege will be defended, not just on behalf of my Administration and the Patriots who worked beside me, but on behalf of the Office of the President of the United States and the future of our Nation,” Trump said.
According to Reuters, four people died on the day of the riots as well as an officer the following day. More than a hundred officers were injured while defending the Capitol and four officers would later take their own lives.
The officer who shot and killed Ashli Babbitt is scheduled to be revealed and interviewed by Lester Holt in an NBC Exclusive on Thursday, August 26. The officer was recently exonerated for his use of force after an internal review.