Two longtime Capitol Police officers who were injured in the Jan. 6 riot are suing former President Donald Trump over the violent mob they say he “inflamed, encouraged, incited, directed, and aided and abetted.” In a complaint filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, James Blassingame and Sidney Hemby accuse Trump of inciting a riot that caused them “physical and emotional injuries.” Hemby is described as an 11-year veteran of the force, and Blassingame a 17-year veteran. “Both United States Capitol Police Officers reported for duty on January 6, 2021, without any suspicion that they would soon become the targets of Trump’s followers,” the complaint reads. But soon enough, after goading from Trump, according to the complaint, the insurrectionists stormed the Capitol and Hemby was “attacked relentlessly” while Blassingame was beaten all over the body and bombarded with racial slurs, the complaint says.
“Foremost in Officer Blassingame’s mind was the terrifying certainty that the insurrectionists were interested in him and the other officers not going home to their families that night,” the document reads. “Trump, by his words and conduct, directed the mob that stormed the Capitol and assaulted and battered James Blassingame and Sidney Hemby,” it states, noting that the “insurrectionists were spurred on by Trump’s conduct over many months in getting his followers to believe his false allegation” that the election was stolen from him. The two officers are seeking unspecified damages for the physical and emotional distress they suffered.
