A Democratic congressman has sued Donald Trump, his lawyer Rudy Giuliani and other allies of the former president over the deadly attack on the US Capitol when violent Trump supporters tried to stop the certification of Trump’s election defeat.
The civil lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, alleges that the attack, which left five dead including a police officer, was a “direct and foreseeable consequence” of unlawful actions by Trump, Giuliani, Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., Republican congressman Mo Brooks and others.
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“As such, the Defendants are responsible for the injury and destruction that followed,” said Representative Eric Swalwell, who filed the lawsuit.
Swalwell was one of the impeachment managers who last month attempted to persuade the US Senate to block Trump from holding office again, saying Trump incited the violence. The Senate voted to acquit Trump.
The lawsuit draws on evidence from the impeachment trial, including Trump tweets leading up to the attack, and details the former president’s efforts to pressure state lawmakers to halt President Joe Biden’s victory.
Swalwell is the second lawmaker to sue Trump over the insurrection.
Representative Bennie Thompson, a Democrat who chairs the House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee, last month filed a lawsuit accusing Trump, Giuliani and two right-wing groups of conspiring to incite the riot.
Swalwell’s lawsuit alleges Trump and his allies broke a US law that prohibits conspiracies to violate civil rights.
The lawsuit also alleges the former president acted negligently and aided and abetted assaults carried out by the pro-Trump mob, and therefore is liable under Washington, DC, law.
Swalwell seeks monetary damages against the defendants, including punitive damages, among other relief from the court, according to the lawsuit.
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