The Gateway Pundit reported Tuesday (Feb. 16) that former President Trump and personal attorney Giuliani were sued in federal court by House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson over the Jan. 6 congressional riots. Thompson is suing Trump, Giuliani, the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers in their individual capacities, accusing the defendants of conspiring to incite a riot in violation of the KKK Act.
The lawsuit filed by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) alleges that Thompson was obstructed and hindered in the performance of his congressional duties and suffered emotional duress, and that Thompson is seeking compensatory and punitive damages.
The lawsuit comes three days after Trump was acquitted in his Senate impeachment trial over the riots. Thompson cited a speech Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) gave on the Senate floor after the trial, blaming Trump for the riots.
The 32-page lawsuit can be read at this link, and excerpts from the complaint are below.
INTRODUCTION
On and before January 6, 2021, Defendants Donald Trump, Rudolph Giuliani, the Proud Boys, and the Oath Keepers conspired to incite the assembled crowd to march on the United States Capitol with the common purpose of disrupting, through the use of force, intimidation, and threats, the approval by Congress of the counting of votes for members of the Electoral College as required by Article II, Section 1 of the United States Constitution. In doing so, Defendants intended to prevent and ultimately delay members of Congress from performing their duties under the United States Constitution to approve the results of the Electoral College for the election of the next President and Vice President of the United States.
- Plaintiff Bennie Thompson, a member of the United States House of Representatives, brought this action against Defendants alleging that Defendants conspired to prevent him and other members of Congress from performing those official duties in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1985(1), which was enacted in 1871 to prevent a conspiracy to prevent members of Congress from performing their official duties through violence and intimidation. The statute was enacted in response to the violence and intimidation in which the KKK and other organizations were involved during this period.
- Defendants conspired to prevent Plaintiffs from performing their official duties as members of Congress by force, intimidation, and threats to approve the counting of votes by members of the Electoral College following the November 2020 presidential election.
- in furtherance of the common goal of preventing the timely approval of the Electoral College count, Defendants acted in concert to incite and subsequently riot at the Capitol by causing people to gather to engage in riotous and violent conduct, or by threatening to engage in such conduct, thereby creating a serious risk of harm to Plaintiff and other members of Congress
…132. Minutes after the vote to acquit defendant Trump, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell addressed the Senate floor. Senator McConnell began by acknowledging the culpability of defendant Trump.” There is no question that President Trump bears actual and moral responsibility for provoking the events of that day.” The people who stormed the building believed they were acting on the wishes and instructions of their president. The consequences of the increasingly false statements, conspiracy theories and reckless hyperbole that the defeated president kept shouting into the largest megaphone on the planet were predictable for those who supported Trump to hear such rhetoric.” However, like other senators who voted to acquit the accused Trump, Senator McConnell does not believe that the impeachment process is constitutional. Senator McConnell went on to say, “President Trump, as a private citizen, unless the statute of limitations has expired, is still responsible for everything he has done while in office and has not escaped any responsibility. We have a criminal justice system in this country. We have civil lawsuits. And the former president is not immune from being held accountable by any of them.”
In violation of the KKK Act.
133.Plaintiffs herein cite to the allegations in the preceding paragraphs.
- Under the Klan Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1985(1), a defendant may not “conspire.” Under the KKK Act (42 U.S.C. § 1985(1)), a defendant may not “conspire to prevent by force, intimidation, or threat any person holding any office, trust, or position of trust in the United States …… or by similar means induce any officer of the United States to leave any …… place where he or she is required to perform the duties of an official, or …… harass, interrupt, impede, or obstruct him in the performance of his official duties.”
- Defendants Trump, Giuliani, Proud Boys, and Oath Keepers conceived, coordinated, and executed a common scheme to prevent Congress from carrying out its official duty of certifying the results of the presidential election.
- In furtherance of this conspiracy, Defendants Trump and Giuliani engaged in a campaign to mislead their supporters and the public by encouraging and promoting intimidation and violence in furtherance of their common plan to promote Defendant Trump’s re-election and to undermine the congressional oversight of the counting of Electoral College votes and the certification of the results even though the states had certified that the election results decisively showed Trump’s defeat in the election. statutory procedures.
- Thus, Defendant Trump acted outside the periphery of his official duties and is therefore susceptible to prosecution in his individual capacity.
- The activities alleged above were conducted by all Defendants as co-conspirators in an attempt to prevent Plaintiff Thompson and other members of Congress from certifying that former Vice President Biden won the presidential election.
- As a result of the acts committed in furtherance of this conspiracy in the paragraphs above, Plaintiff Thompson was obstructed and hindered in the performance of his official duties and was denied his right to be free from intimidation and threats in the performance of his official duties, as expressly protected by the KKK Act. During the attack on the Capitol, Plaintiff Thompson suffered emotional distress.
- Accordingly, Plaintiff Thompson seeks compensatory damages.
- Because Defendants acted unlawfully in bad faith and with reckless disregard for federally protected rights, Plaintiff Thompson seeks punitive damages to punish Defendants for engaging in concerted and continuing unlawful conduct
and to deter Defendants and others from engaging in similar unlawful conduct in the future.
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