The United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. was breached by thousands of protesters during a “Stop The Steal” rally in support of President Donald Trump during the worldwide coronavirus pandemic. John Nacion/STAR MAX/IPx 2021 1/6/21
The floodgates exposing Donald Trump to civil lawsuits seeking to hold him accountable for the violent and destructive events at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 are now open, according to an order from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
On Friday, the appeals court gave the green light to three civil complaints against Trump tied to Jan. 6. As Law&Crime previously reported, Trump missed his deadline at the Supreme Court to fight the civil lawsuits in February.
According to a 2-page per curiam order:
These appeals raise the same question that this court recently decided in Blassingame v. Trump. As a result, the merits of the parties positions are so clear as to warrant summary action. Blassingame held that former President Donald J. Trump lacks presidential immunity for actions that he took ‘in his personal capacity as presidential candidate’ as opposed to ‘in his official capacity as sitting President.’
The three lawsuits approved to move forward on Friday are Marcos J. Moore v. Donald Trump; Bobby Tabron et al v. Donald Trump; and Briana Kirkland v. Donald Trump. All of the plaintiffs are police officers who responded to the Capitol on Jan. 6.
Mutually but in their own separate motions, the plaintiffs argue Trump broke the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871. That law bars mob violence from being directed at federal officials. Many of the officers also allege that Trump inflicted physical and emotional injuries on them by inciting the attack at the Capitol.
Capitol Police Officer Moore, in particular, alleged in his 2022 complaint against Trump that “insurrectionists were spurred on by Trump’s conduct over many months” as he spread rampant lies about pervasive voter fraud altering the outcome of the 2020 election.
His words ended up being a “call to arms,” Moore alleges.
Moore wasn’t even meant to report to work on Jan. 6. He was called by a superior on Jan. 5 and told to come in. He would spend more than 12 hours on duty that day, much of it spent desperately trying to defend the Capitol and repelling wave after wave of rioters, several of them members of the Proud Boys extremist group, Moore’s lawsuit notes.
His lawsuit alone seeks to hold Trump liable for an array of offenses including directing assault and battery, aiding and abetting assault and battery, inciting a riot, disorderly conduct and civil conspiracy.
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