DOJ Tells Court: Trump Can Be Sued For Jan. 6 Harm

Former President Donald Trump can be sued by injured Capitol Police officers and Democratic lawmakers over the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the US Capitol, the Justice Department said in a federal court case testing Trump’s legal vulnerability for his speech before the riot.

Photo Insert: Justice lawyers told the court that a president would not be protected by “absolute immunity” if his words were found to have been an incitement of imminent private violence.

The Justice Department told a Washington federal appeals court in a legal filing that it should allow the lawsuits to move forward, rejecting Trump’s argument that he is immune from the claims, Eric Tucker and Alanna Durkin Richer reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Justice lawyers told the court that a president would not be protected by “absolute immunity” if his words were found to have been an incitement of imminent private violence.

The filing could to an avalanche of court cases against Trump from the families of policemen who died, law enforcers who were injured and lawmakers who were threatened during the insurrection.

“As the Nation’s leader and head of state, the President has ‘an extraordinary power to speak to his fellow citizens and on their behalf,’ they wrote. “But that traditional function is one of public communication and persuasion, not incitement of imminent private violence.”

Trump’s lawyers have argued he was acting within the bounds of his official duties and had no intention to spark violence when he called on thousands of supporters to “march to the Capitol” and “fight like hell” before the riot erupted.

One of the lawsuits, filed by Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., alleges that “Trump directly incited the violence at the Capitol that followed and then watched approvingly as the building was overrun.”

Two other lawsuits were also filed, one by other House Democrats and another by officers James Blassingame and Sidney Hemby.

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