Seven officers from U.S. Capitol Police filed a lawsuit this week against Donald Trump, Roger Stone, and members of right-of-center groups, all of whom the plaintiffs claim engaged in domestic terrorism to keep Trump in the presidency on January 6.
Five of the officers are black, and they assert the alleged “conspiracy theories” Trump used to incite an “insurrection” were laced with white supremacy.
“As this lawsuit makes clear, the Jan. 6 insurrection was not just an attack on individuals, but an attack on democracy itself,” said Damon Hewitt, president of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, which is representing the officers. “It was a blatant attempt to stifle the votes and voices of millions of Americans, particularly Black voters.”
They base their claims partly on conservatives’ accusations of voter fraud in Democrat-controlled areas that generally have a relatively high black population.
Filed in Washington, D.C., federal court on Wednesday, the complaint is the first to accuse Trump of conspiring to “force, intimidation and threats” to prevent Congress from certifying the election for Joe Biden.
Also implicated in the suit are more than a dozen members of organizations such as the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys.
According to the lawsuit, Trump and the other defendants violated the 1871 Ku Klux Klan Act, which makes it illegal to use force or threats to prevent federal officers from carrying out their duties.
The Hill reports:
The 71-page complaint contains firsthand accounts of the plaintiffs, including from Governor Latson, a Black officer and 35-year veteran of the Capitol Police force. Latson says he sustained injuries “from being physically struck by attackers,” as well as from being sprayed with “noxious pepper spray, bear spray, fire extinguishers and other pollutants.”
“As Officer Latson attempted to secure the third-floor doors to the Senate Chamber with other officers, a crowd of attackers attempted to enter through the doors. One attacker shoved Officer Latson during this altercation,” the complaint states. “Attackers then breached the Senate Chamber, physically assaulted Officer Latson, and hurled racial slurs at him, including ‘n****r.’”
On Thursday, the Capitol Hill Police officer who shot and killed Ashli Babbitt, a January 6 protester, gave an exclusive interview to NBC News in which he said he was justified in taking the life of the 36-year-old Air Force veteran.
“I know that day I saved countless lives,” the officer, Lieutenant Michael Byrd, said. “I know members of Congress, as well as my fellow officers and staff, were in jeopardy and in serious danger. And that’s my job.”
Byrd has been cleared of wrongdoing by the Justice Department and the Capitol Police.
The Babbitt family’s attorney has called the shooting an “ambush,” alleging that the officer gave no warning before he pulled the trigger. Babbitt’s family has stated they want to file a civil lawsuit against the Capitol Police.
U.S. Capitol Police is growing its presence throughout the country in the aftermath of January 6 on the grounds that it needs to curtail threats against members of Congress. The agency will open a field office in Tampa, Florida, and another in San Francisco, California.
Despite the accusations from the Left of an attempted coup by President Trump, the FBI recently declared that they found scant evidence January 6 was the result of an organized plot.
Over 570 individuals have thus far been arrested in connection to that day, but the FBI says it does not believe the “riot” was centrally coordinated.
“Ninety to ninety-five percent of these are one-off cases,” a former senior law-enforcement official with knowledge of the investigation told Reuters. “Then you have five percent, maybe, of these militia groups that were more closely organized. But there was no grand scheme with Roger Stone and Alex Jones and all of these people to storm the Capitol and take hostages.”
If there was coordination, was it on the part of those doing the investigation? Evidence suggests the FBI itself may have orchestrated the so-called “insurrection.”
Court filings originally published by Revolver News reveal that there were many “unindicted co-conspirators” that took part in the Capitol breach. Many, including Fox commentator Tucker Carlson, have pointed out the likely conclusion that the real reason these unnamed co-conspirators remain unindicted is because they were FBI operatives.
