Two Capitol Police Officers Sue Donald Trump for “sparking” Jan 06 Insurrection
Pollemix News – March 31, 2021
Two Capitol Police Officers that were on duty during the January 06 Capitol Hill insurrection filed a lawsuit alleging former President Trump incited the deadly mob attack leading to the physical and emotional injuries they suffered as a result.
Capitol Police Officers James Blassingame and Sidney Hemby are the first to pursue legal action against Trump for the attack and are seeking at least $75,000 in damages each. The Trump team is yet to respond to the filing but it is a bitter blow coming only a day after his motion to dismiss a sexual harassment case brought by former Apprentice candidate Summer Zervos was rejected. Since leaving office on January 20, Trump has been forced to fend off several legal challenges including a tax fraud investigation by the Manhattan D.A’s office and this latest lawsuit will prompt fears that more litigation could be forthcoming from the other 140 other Capitol Police officers injured in the attack.
The suit was filed in Washington D.C on Tuesday with the officers alleging that the mob was “spurred on by Trump’s conduct over many months in getting his followers to believe” false and discredited allegations of voter fraud.
“The insurrectionist mob, which Trump had inflamed, encouraged, incited, directed, and aided and abetted, forced its way over and past the plaintiffs and their fellow officers, pursuing and attacking them inside and outside the United States Capitol, and causing the injuries.”
Since the attack Trump and his acolytes have sought to downplay the violence, with the former President defending the rioters on Fox’s Ingraham Angle claiming they posed “zero threat”.
One of the common refrains from those defending Trump against allegations that he orchestrated the January 06 riot was that the mob attacked the Capitol before his incendiary speech had even culminated. In response this most recent lawsuit alleges that although Trump’s speech may have been the spark that lit the flame, he had already engaged in a months-long effort to claim the election was ‘rigged’ after it was called for Biden, prompting his supporters to descend on the Capitol on January 06.
“Trump’s December 19 tweet about the January 06 rally was taken by many of his supporters as a literal call to arms,” the lawsuit said.
POLL: Did Trump’s rhetoric incite his supporters to attack Capitol Hill?
