Congressmen and police officers are filing civil lawsuits against then-President Donald Trump after the storming of the Capitol. He wanted to stop that. The judge had a clear opinion on this.
Former US President Donald Trump has suffered a defeat in court in connection with the storming of the Capitol. Civil lawsuits against Trump could go ahead, a federal judge ruled. Trump’s January 6, 2021 speech could be viewed as a “call for collective action,” the decision said. However, the judge dismissed similar allegations against Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr. and lawyer Rudy Giuliani back.
It was “plausible” that Trump incited his supporters at the time to stop the official confirmation of his election defeat in the US Congress. Trump’s statements to his supporters are “the essence of a civil conspiracy,” Judge Amit Mehta wrote, rejecting Trump’s motions to dismiss the lawsuits. It can be assumed that the ex-president knew that militias were prepared to use force to defend him.
Trump stirred up supporters
Trump supporters violently stormed the Capitol on January 6 while Congress was meeting there to certify the outcome of the presidential election. Trump had recently incited his supporters at a rally that his election victory had been stolen. Five people were killed, including a police officer. Four other police officers committed suicide in the weeks and months that followed. Giuliani also spoke at the rally.
Trump had to face impeachment. The Senate majority needed to convict the Republican did not materialize because most of his party friends in the House of Representatives supported Trump. Supreme Republican Mitch McConnell, who himself found the ex-president innocent in the proceedings, indirectly called for legal action to be taken against his party colleague. State legislators and Capitol Police officials then filed the civil suit.