Seven US Capitol Police officers are suing former president Donald Trump, alleging that he conspired with far-right extremist groups to provoke the deadly January 6 attack on the Congress.
The officers in a lawsuit filed in Washington, DC federal court allege the attack was culmination of months of rhetoric from Trump, who they say knew of the potential for violence on and actively encouraged it in hopes of halting the certification of President Joe Biden’s election victory.
The latest suit was filed in US District Court in Washington by The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights on behalf of the seven Capitol Police officers.
The lawsuit alleges Trump conspired with the extremist groups The Proud Boys and The Oathkeepers, as well as far-right political operatives including Roger Stone and Ali Alexander, who promoted Trump’s speech near the White House right before the Capitol attack.
“Trump, in concert with other defendants, deliberately and persistently made and encouraged false claims of election fraud to discredit the outcome of the election and disingenuously incite outrage among his supporters,” the lawsuit alleged.
The case is the latest in a string of civil lawsuits seeking to hold Trump accountable for the siege of the Capitol by a mob of his supporters.
Four people died on the day of the violence, one shot dead by police and the other three of natural causes.
A Capitol Police officer who had been attacked by protesters died the following day.
Four police officers who took part in the defence of the Capitol later took their own lives.
More than a hundred police officers were injured.
Ron Fischetti, a personal lawyer for Trump, did not respond to a request for comment.
In a similar lawsuit filed by Democratic US Representative Eric Swalwell, Trump has argued that his actions were free speech protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and that he cannot be held liable under US civil law because he was acting within his capacity as president on January 6.
Damon Hewitt, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee, said that the January 6 attack “was a blatant attempt to stifle the votes and voices of millions of Americans, particularly black voters”.
“For months after the 2020 election had been officially called, former president Trump and his associates made co-ordinated and systematic attempts to lodge their false claims of election fraud,” he said.
“The lies of this conspiracy intentionally energised white supremacists and violent extremist groups and actively encouraged them to co-ordinate the violent attack on the Capitol.”
Five of the police officers filing the lawsuit are black.