Several law enforcement officers who were violently assaulted by rioters as they defended lawmakers during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot last year sued former President Donald Trump on Tuesday for his role in inciting the attack.
Lawyers for injured Capitol officer Marcus Moore described the former president as the “leader” of a violent mob “who took their cues from his campaign rhetoric” and tweets, and flocked the nation’s capital “at Trump’s invitation.”
“Trump was in a position of extraordinary influence over his followers, who committed assault and battery on Marcus Moore,” his lawyers wrote in a complaint filed in federal court on Tuesday. “Trump, by his words and conduct, directed the mob that stormed the Capitol and assaulted and battered Marcus Moore.”
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Moore’s lawyers said that their client was one of nine officers guarding the House Chambers doors when a mob of rioters dressed in Trump gear and carrying large Trump flags, crushed Moore against the wall. He struggled to breathe over the heavy odor of bear spray and other chemicals, as rioters hurled fire extinguishers, poles, and other objects at Moore and his colleagues, while hammering them with fists.
The 10-year Capitol Police veteran’s lawyers filed similar lawsuits on Tuesday on behalf of Metropolitan Police Department Officers Bobby Tabron and DeDivine K. Carter for physical and emotional injuries that resulted from Trump’s alleged incitement of the Jan. 6 attack. Carter was “punched and struck repeatedly, hit with projectiles, and sprayed with chemicals,” as he tried to protect the Capitol, according to the documents. Tabron, meanwhile, was struck in the side of the head by one of Trump’s supporters “with such force that it knocked his helmet sideways and left him dazed.”
According to his lawyers, Moore feared for his life as some rioters allegedly shouted: “Take their guns and kill them.”
“We are not going to die like this,” Moore shouted to another officer, as he watched armed Trump supporters close in and outnumber the group of officers. “He feared the mob was so intent on violence, he might not make it home alive,” the lawyers wrote.
The pair of lawsuits accuse Trump of playing a critical role in fanning the flames of an attack.
“As Trump concluded his speech near the White House, his followers who were already at the Capitol became insurrectionists,” the lawyers wrote in Moore’s lawsuit. They argue in both complaints that Trump violated the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, which in part prohibits preventing a U.S. officer from performing their duties and bars mob violence aimed at obstructing the functions of the federal government.
Trump had “inflamed, encouraged, incited, directed, and aided and abetted” lawyers said in the lawsuits, adding that officers’ injuries were caused by Trump’s now infamous speech on the Ellipse, followed by the former president’s refusal to direct his followers to “stop their continued violence,” as they burst through barricades and continued their assault at the Capitol, where lawmakers were certifying the peaceful transfer of power.
The pair of lawsuits details Trump’s efforts to delegitimize the election, including comments during the first presidential debate in September 2020, where he repeatedly insisted that the election would be rife with fraud. The officers’ lawyers said that Trump dialed up his efforts to overturn the election when he promoted the protest on Jan. 6, “Be there, will be wild!” which became “a literal call to arms” for his followers.
According to the documents, Trump also violated laws against inciting riots, disorderly conduct, civil conspiracy, and aiding and abetting assault and battery.
The lawsuits are part of a growing pile of complaints against the former president by those who physically witnessed the attack last year.
Plaintiffs in both lawsuits each seek punitive damages and compensatory damages of $75,000.
Other lawsuits were filed in federal court by Democratic Reps. Eric Swalwell (CA), and Bennie Thompson (MS), in addition to fellow Capitol Police Officers James Blassingame and Sidney Hemby, which are scheduled to be heard next week.
