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https://davidraymondamos3.blogspot.com/2021/02/trump-giuliani-sued-in-federal-court.html
Trump, Giuliani sued in federal court over role in Capitol riot
Proud Boys, Oath Keepers also accused in suit of conspiring against Congress to perform its duties
The Associated Press · Posted: Feb 16, 2021 2:44 PM ET
Donald Trump was acquitted in his second impeachment trial by a vote of 57-43 in the U.S. Senate. 5:32
A Democratic congressman accused Donald Trump in a federal lawsuit on Tuesday of inciting the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and of conspiring with his lawyer and extremist groups to try to prevent Congress from certifying the results of the presidential election he lost to Joe Biden.
The lawsuit filed on behalf of Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson by Joseph Sellers, a Washington lawyer, and the NAACP, is part of an expected wave of litigation over the Jan. 6 riot and is believed to be the first filed by a member of Congress. Thompson, the Democratic chair of the House's homeland security committee, could be joined by other members of Congress, lawyers said.
The case also names as defendants the former Republican president's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, and groups including the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers, extremist organizations that had members charged by the Justice Department with taking part in the siege. The suit seeks unspecified punitive and compensatory damages.
A Trump adviser, Jason Miller, said in a statement Tuesday that Trump did not organize the rally that preceded the riot and "did not incite or conspire to incite any violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6th." A lawyer for Giuliani did not immediately return an email seeking comment.
The suit, filed in federal court in Washington under a Reconstruction-era law known as the Ku Klux Klan Act, comes after Trump was acquitted on Feb. 13 in a Senate impeachment trial that centred on allegations that he incited the riot that saw five people in attendance die, including a Trump supporter who was fatally shot and a Capitol police officer who was killed in circumstances that are still unclear. Three others suffered fatal medical episodes, according to reports.
Trump's acquittal is likely to open the door to fresh legal scrutiny over his actions before and during the siege.
WATCH | McConnell highly critical of Trump despite vote to acquit:
Even some Republicans who voted to acquit Trump on Saturday acknowledged that the more proper venue to deal with Trump was in the courts, especially now that he has left the White House and lost certain legal protections that shielded him as president.
"We have a criminal justice system in this country. We have civil litigation and former presidents are not immune from being accountable by either one," Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said from the chamber floor after the Senate voted 57-43 to find Trump guilty of the impeachment charge, a result that didn't meet the threshold of a two-thirds majority for a conviction.
Riot a 'foreseeable culmination,' suit alleges
The suit traces the drawn-out effort by Trump and Giuliani to cast doubt on the election results even though courts across the country, and state election officials, repeatedly rejected their baseless allegations of fraud.
Despite evidence to the contrary, the suit says, the men portrayed the election as stolen while Trump "endorsed rather than discouraged" threats of violence from his angry supporters in the weeks leading up to the assault on the Capitol.
"The carefully orchestrated series of events that unfolded at the Save America rally and the storming of the Capitol was no accident or coincidence," the suit says. "It was the intended and foreseeable culmination of a carefully co-ordinated campaign to interfere with the legal process required to confirm the tally of votes cast in the Electoral College."
Presidents are historically afforded broad immunity from lawsuits for actions they take in their role as commander-in-chief. But the lawsuit filed Tuesday was brought against Trump in his personal, not official, capacity and alleges that none of the behaviour at issue had to do with his responsibilities as president.
"Inciting a riot, or attempting to interfere with the congressional efforts to ratify the results of the election that are commended by the Constitution, could not conceivably be within the scope of ordinary responsibilities of the president," Sellers said in an AP interview.
"In this respect, because of his conduct, he is just like any other private citizen," Sellers said.
(PDF KB)
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Though the impeachment case focused squarely on accusations of incitement, the lawsuit more broadly accuses Trump of conspiring to disrupt the constitutional activities of Congress — namely, the certification of election results establishing Biden as the rightful winner — through a months-long effort to discredit the outcome and to lean on individual states and his own vice-president to overturn the contest.
The case against Trump was brought under a provision of the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, which was passed in response to KKK violence and prohibits violence or intimidation meant to prevent Congress or other federal officials from carrying out their constitutional duties.
"Fortunately, this hasn't been used very much," Sellers said. "But what we see here is so unprecedented that it's really reminiscent of what gave rise to the enactment of this legislation right after the Civil War."
Defending use of 'trial by combat'
The suit cites incendiary comments that Trump and Giuliani made in the weeks leading up to the riot and on the day of it that lawyers say were designed to mobilize supporters to work to overturn the election results and to prevent the Senate's certification process. That process was temporarily interrupted when Trump loyalists broke into the Capitol.
Giuliani has said his exhortation to those in attendance for a "trial by combat" was a Game of Thrones reference to encourage investigations of voting systems used in the Nov. 3 vote.
Dominion Voting Systems, which has headquarters in Toronto, is one of two voting software companies to target Trump allies in lawsuits due to their rhetoric and unproven allegations of fraud.
Trump told supporters at a rally preceding the riot to "fight like hell," but lawyers for the former president adamantly denied during the impeachment trial that he had incited the riot. They pointed to a remark during his speech in which he told the crowd to behave "peacefully" that day.
Defence lawyers are likely to revisit those assertions in the lawsuit. They may also argue, as was done during the impeachment case, that Trump's speech was protected by the First Amendment.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Monday that her chamber will move to establish an independent, Sept. 11-style commission to look into the insurrection. Pelosi said the commission will "investigate and report on the facts and causes" relating to the attack and "the interference with the peaceful transfer of power."
At the White House on Tuesday, press secretary Jen Psaki said the president supports the formation of a commission. Biden "backs efforts to shed additional light on the facts to ensure something like that never happens again," she said.
With files from CBC News
Both sides are guilty of rhetoric.
If you don't charge the people in this video of incitement then you have list all crwdibility in your pursuit for justice.
https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1859953731965
trumpy non sequiturs don't count
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/16/us/politics/naacp-sues-trump-giuliani-proud-boys-capitol.html
N.A.A.C.P. Sues Trump and Giuliani Over Election Fight and Jan. 6 Riot
The civil rights group brought the suit on behalf of Representative Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, with other Democrats in Congress expected to join as plaintiffs.
Credit...Anna Moneymaker/The New York Times
WASHINGTON — The N.A.A.C.P. on Tuesday morning filed a federal lawsuit against former President Donald J. Trump and his personal lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani, claiming that they violated a 19th century statute when they tried to prevent the certification of the election on Jan. 6.
The civil rights organization brought the suit on behalf of Representative Bennie Thompson, Democrat of Mississippi. Other Democrats in Congress — including Representatives Hank Johnson of Georgia and Bonnie Watson Coleman of New Jersey — are expected to join as plaintiffs in the coming weeks, according to the N.A.A.C.P.
The lawsuit contends that Mr. Trump and Mr. Giuliani violated the Ku Klux Klan Act, an 1871 statute that includes protections against violent conspiracies that interfered with Congress’s constitutional duties; the suit also names the Proud Boys, the far-right nationalist group, and the Oath Keepers militia group. The legal action accuses Mr. Trump, Mr. Giuliani and the two groups of conspiring to incite a violent riot at the Capitol, with the goal of preventing Congress from certifying the election.
The suit is the latest legal problem for Mr. Trump: New York prosecutors are investigating his financial dealings; New York’s attorney general is pursuing a civil investigation into whether Mr. Trump’s company misstated assets to get bank loans and tax benefits; and a Georgia district attorney is examining his election interference effort there.
Jason Miller, an adviser to Mr. Trump, noted in response to the lawsuit that the Senate had acquitted the former president of the article of impeachment on inciting an insurrection. The Senate voted 57-43, falling short of the two-thirds majority required to convict.
“President Trump did not plan, produce or organize the Jan. 6 rally on the Ellipse. President Trump did not incite or conspire to incite any violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6,” Mr. Miller said in a statement on Tuesday. He added that Mr. Giuliani “is not currently representing President Trump in any legal matters.”
In the lawsuit, Mr. Thompson said he was forced to wear a gas mask and hide on the floor of the House gallery for three hours while hearing “threats of physical violence against any member who attempted to proceed to approve the Electoral College ballot count.” Mr. Thompson also heard a gunshot, according to the suit, which he did not learn until later had killed Ashli Babbitt, one of the rioters in the Capitol lobby.
Mr. Thompson is seeking compensatory and punitive damages in the lawsuit filed in Federal District Court in Washington. The suit does not include a specific financial amount.
Mr.
Thompson, 72, claims he was put at an increased health risk by later
being required to shelter in place in a cramped area that did not allow
for social distancing. The lawsuit notes that Mr. Thompson shared
confined space with two members of Congress who tested positive for the
coronavirus shortly after the attack at the Capitol.
In an interview on Monday, Mr. Thompson said he would not have brought the suit against Mr. Trump if the Senate had voted to convict him in last week’s impeachment trial.
“I feared for my life,” Mr. Thompson said. “Not a day passes that I don’t think about this incident. I was committed to seeing justice brought to this situation.”
He added: “This is me, and hopefully others, having our day in court to address the atrocities of Jan. 6. I trust the better judgment of the courts because obviously Republican members of the Senate could not do what the evidence overwhelmingly presented.”
Mr. Thompson said he had already received a second dose of a Covid vaccine by Jan. 6 and therefore did not quarantine after his close contacts with colleagues who tested positive. But he noted, “There were a number of members who were very concerned about being housed in those numbers with people refusing to wear masks.”
Both Democratic and Republican members of Congress have recently raised the prospect of Mr. Trump being held accountable in the courts for the riot. Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader, voted to acquit Mr. Trump in the impeachment trial but then appeared to encourage people to take their fight to the courts.
“He didn’t get away with anything, yet,” Mr. McConnell said at the trial’s conclusion, noting: “We have a criminal justice system in this country. We have civil litigation.”
Derrick Johnson, president of the N.A.A.C.P., said the decision to seek compensatory and punitive damages was rooted in a history of tools that have worked to fight back against white supremacy.
“The Southern Poverty Law Center filed a lawsuit against the Ku Klux Klan that bankrupted a chapter,” he said, referring to a 2008 judgment against a Kentucky-based Klan outfit that ordered the group to pay $2.5 million in damages. “This is very similar. If we do nothing, we can be ensured these groups will continue to spread and grow in their boldness. We must curb the spread of white supremacy.”
While much of the focus of the impeachment trial rested on how the violent mob was threatening former Vice President Mike Pence as well as congressional leaders like the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, N.A.A.C.P. officials said the attack was deeply rooted in racial injustice.
“Underlying this insurrection were the actions of folks who were challenging the voices of people of color,” said Janette McCarthy Wallace, interim general counsel of the N.A.A.C.P. “If you look at whose votes were being challenged, these came from largely urban areas. The votes of people of color were being challenged.”
The suit, for instance, charges Mr. Giuliani with attempting to reject “the votes cast by voters in Detroit, the population of which is 78 percent African-American.” It also says Mr. Giuliani inaccurately claimed there was fraud in voting in Milwaukee and Madison, Wis., “both of which have large African-American populations.”
Joseph M. Sellers, a partner at the civil rights law firm Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, which jointly filed the case, said the lawsuit named Mr. Trump in his personal capacity because his conduct challenging another branch of government to do its job falls outside the official duties of the president.
“He was engaging in conduct that is so far outside any remotely legitimate scope of his presidential duties,” Mr. Sellers said. “He no longer has the immunity of the president.”
Annie Karni is a White House correspondent. She previously covered the White House and Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign for Politico, and covered local news and politics for the New York Post and the New York Daily News. @AnnieKarni
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
HON. BENNIE G. THOMPSON, in his
personal capacity,
2466 Rayburn House Office Building
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Plaintiff,
v.
DONALD J. TRUMP, solely in his personal
capacity
Mar-A-Lago
1100 S. Ocean Blvd.
Palm Beach, Florida 33480-5004,
RUDOLPH W. GIULIANI,
Rudolph W Giuliani, PLLC
445 Park Ave FL 18
New York, NY 10022-2606
PROUD BOYS INTERNATIONAL, L.L.C.,
c/o Jason L. Van Dyke
108 Durango Dr.
Crossroads, TX, 76227, and
OATH KEEPERS,
Attn: Stewart Rhodes
1030 E. Hwy 377
Ste 110-285
Granbury, TX 76048
4625 West Nevso Drive, Suite 2 & 3
Las Vegas, NV, 89103
Defendants.
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Civil Action No. ____________
COMPLAINT
JURY TRIAL REQUESTED
COMPLAINT
Case 1:21-cv-00400 Document 1 Filed 02/16/21 Page 1 of 32�
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INTRODUCTION
1. On and before January 6, 2021, the Defendants Donald J. Trump, Rudolph W.
Giuliani, Proud Boys, and Oath Keepers conspired to incite an assembled crowd to march upon
and enter the Capitol of the United States for the common purpose of disrupting, by the use of
force, intimidation and threat, the approval by Congress of the count of votes cast by members of
the Electoral College as required by Article II, Section 1 of the United States Constitution. In
doing so, the Defendants each intended to prevent, and ultimately delayed, members of Congress
from discharging their duty commanded by the United States Constitution to approve the results
of the Electoral College in order to elect the next President and Vice President of the United
States.
2. Plaintiff, the Honorable Bennie G. Thompson, Member of the United States
House of Representatives, brings this action against the Defendants for conspiring to prevent him
and other Members of Congress from discharging these official duties, in violation of 42 U.S.C.
§ 1985(1). Enacted as the “Ku Klux Klan Act†in 1871, Section 1985(1) was intended to protect
against conspiracies, through violence and intimidation, that sought to prevent Members of
Congress from discharging their official duties. The statute was enacted in response to violence
and intimidation in which the Ku Klux Klan and other organizations were engaged during that
time period.
3. The Defendants conspired to prevent, by force, intimidation and threats, the
Plaintiff, as a Member of Congress, from discharging his official duties to approve the count of
votes cast by members of the Electoral College following the presidential election held in
November 2020.
Case 1:21-cv-00400 Document 1 Filed 02/16/21 Page 2 of 32�
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4. In furtherance of this common goal of preventing the timely approval of the
Electoral College vote count, the Defendants acted in concert to incite and then carry out a riot at
the Capitol by promoting an assembly of persons to engage in tumultuous and violent conduct or
the threat of it that created grave danger of harm to the Plaintiff and to other Members of
Congress.
5. This conduct jointly undertaken to threaten the Plaintiff and other Members of
Congress in order to disrupt the Electoral College vote count was part of an ongoing course of
action pursued by the Defendants for the purpose of contesting the announced results of the
presidential election held in November 2020 and preventing the duly elected President and Vice
President from attaining approval of Congress of their election necessary to their inauguration.
6. The insurrection at the Capitol was a direct, intended, and foreseeable result of the
Defendants’ unlawful conspiracy. It was instigated according to a common plan that the
Defendants pursued since the election held in November 2020, culminating in an assembly
denominated as the “Save America†rally held at the Ellipse in Washington, D.C. on January 6,
2021, during which Defendants Trump and Giuliani incited a crowd of thousands to descend
upon the Capitol in order to prevent or delay through the use of force the counting of Electoral
College votes. As part of this unified plan to prevent the counting of Electoral College votes,
Defendants Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, through their leadership, acted in concert to
spearhead the assault on the Capitol while the angry mob that Defendants Trump and Giuliani
incited descended on the Capitol. The carefully orchestrated series of events that unfolded at the
Save America rally and the storming of the Capitol was no accident or coincidence. It was the
intended and foreseeable culmination of a carefully coordinated campaign to interfere with the
legal process required to confirm the tally of votes cast in the Electoral College.
Case 1:21-cv-00400 Document 1 Filed 02/16/21 Page 3 of 32�
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7. While not all of the Defendants in this action were physically present at the
Capitol during this attack on the Plaintiff and other Members of Congress, the events that
occurred were the natural, foreseeable and intended consequence of the Defendants’ coordinated
campaign to use intimidation, harassment and threats in an attempt to prevent Congress from
discharging its legally required duty to preside over, and approve, the count of the Electoral
College votes which ultimately confirmed that Defendant Trump’s opponent was elected the next
President of the United States.
8. Accordingly, this action seeks the award of compensatory damages to redress the
harm to the Plaintiff caused by the Defendants’ use of intimidation, harassment and threats of
violence to interfere with his discharge of his legally required duty as a Member of Congress and
punitive damages to punish the Defendants for the reckless and malicious manner in which they
acted and to enjoin and deter a recurrence of this unlawful conduct.
JURISDICTION AND VENUE
9. This Court has jurisdiction over the subject matter of this suit pursuant to 28
U.S.C. § 1331 because the claim in this case arises under the laws of the United States.
10. Venue is proper in this judicial district pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b)(2)
because a substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to the claims occurred in this
district.
THE PARTIES
11. Plaintiff Bennie G. Thompson is the duly elected Representative of the Second
Congressional District of Mississippi. On January 6, 2021, Rep. Thompson was present in the
Capitol in order to discharge his legally required duty to observe and approve the count of votes
cast by members of the Electoral College for the election of President and Vice-President of the
Case 1:21-cv-00400 Document 1 Filed 02/16/21 Page 4 of 32�
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United States. As described in more detail below, Rep. Thompson was hindered, delayed,
impeded and almost completely prevented from carrying out these duties because of the
Defendants’ unlawful actions. Rep. Thompson brings this suit in his personal capacity.
12. Defendant Donald J. Trump was the President of the United States from January
20, 2017 until noon Eastern Standard Time on January 20, 2021. Defendant Trump is a resident
of the state of Florida. As described in more detail below, Defendant Trump, acting solely in his
personal capacity, conspired with others with the purpose of preventing, by force, intimidation
and threats, the Plaintiff and other Members of Congress from discharging their duty to approve
the results of the Electoral College vote and certify the results of the presidential election held in
November, 2020. Defendant Trump is sued in his personal capacity.
13. Defendant Rudolph William Giuliani has acted as a confidant of Defendant
Trump. The actions attributed to Defendant Giuliani were undertaken in his personal capacity
and not as an officer of the United States. He is a resident of New York. As discussed in more
detail below, Defendant Giuliani acted in concert with other Defendants to prevent the Plaintiff
and other Members of Congress from discharging their duty to approve the results of the
Electoral College vote and certify the results of the presidential election held in November 2020.
14. Proud Boys International, L.L.C. (“Proud Boysâ€) is a Texas Limited Liability
Company with multiple chapters in the United States and main offices located in Crossroads,
Texas. The organization describes itself as a “pro-Western fraternal organization for men who
refuse to apologize for creating the modern world; aka Western Chauvinists.†Proud Boys
members have participated in multiple events that have supported and promoted views that were
highly critical of positions advanced during the presidential campaign of then Vice President
Biden and views that were strongly supportive of positions advanced during the presidential
Case 1:21-cv-00400 Document 1 Filed 02/16/21 Page 5 of 32�
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campaign of then President Trump. It also has repeatedly employed and supported the use of
violence in its opposition to views with which it differed, such as the views expressed by leaders
of the Black Lives Matter movement. Proud Boys members can often be identified by the
yellow and black colors they wear as well as by logos and emblems that are identified with the
Proud Boys organization. As described in more detail below, Proud Boys was involved in
organizing and carrying out the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, in pursuit of a
purpose shared by Defendants Trump and Giuliani, as part of a jointly conceived and executed
plan to prevent the counting of Electoral Votes confirming Defendant Trump’s opponent as the
next President.
15. Defendant Oath Keepers is a militia organization incorporated as a non-profit
corporation in Nevada, with its main office located in Las Vegas, Nevada, whose members are
comprised of current and former military and law enforcement officers who express the view that
the federal government is trying to strip American citizens of their rights. The organization’s
name is derived from the oath that all military and police take to “defend the Constitution against
all enemies, foreign and domestic.†The organization and its leadership have routinely stated
that it is preparing for or engaged in a civil war. As described in more detail below, Oath
Keepers was directly involved in organizing and carrying out the insurrection at the Capitol on
January 6, 2021 in pursuit of a purpose shared by Defendants Trump, Giuliani and Proud Boys.
STATEMENT OF FACTS
I. Defendants’ Actions Leading Up to the “Save America†Rally
16. The attack on the Capitol that occurred on January 6, 2021 was no accident.
Since the results of the election held in November 2020 were announced, Defendant Trump, in
concert with Defendant Giuliani, mobilized supporters by mounting a campaign of
Case 1:21-cv-00400 Document 1 Filed 02/16/21 Page 6 of 32�
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misinformation and anger-laden rhetoric to challenge the validity of the election results in
support of the false contention that Defendant Trump had actually won the election
notwithstanding the results certified by every state in the Union that demonstrated otherwise.
17. During the presidential campaign, Defendant Trump repeatedly declined to agree
that, regardless of the outcome of the election, he would ensure a peaceful transition of power.
In doing so, he solicited the support of, and endorsed the belligerent and violent actions of,
organizations such as the Proud Boys that expressed support of his reelection.
18. During this time, Defendant Trump actively and enthusiastically supported armed
protesters who used threats and, at times, violence in the pursuit of their political and social
agendas. For example, after state governments began implementing restrictions on access to
public facilities in response to the spread of the COVID-19, Defendant Trump referred to
supporters who threatened the use of violence in resisting these restrictions as the “Trump Armyâ€
and the “first line of defense when it comes to fighting off the Liberal mob.â€
19. In another illustration of Defendant Trump’s endorsement of the threat of
violence, after a caravan of Trump supporters swarmed a Biden campaign bus on November 1,
2020, nearly causing a violent accident and leading to the cancellation of a Biden campaign
event, Defendant Trump praised the mob, saying, “These patriots did nothing wrong.â€
20. After the votes were tallied from the election held on November 3, 2020,
Defendants Trump and Giuliani initiated a campaign in which they reported that the announced
vote tallies were the product of fraud and that Defendant Trump in fact won the election,
notwithstanding that these assertions were repeatedly rejected by the courts and the states to
which they were presented.
Case 1:21-cv-00400 Document 1 Filed 02/16/21 Page 7 of 32�
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21. On November 4, 2020, Defendant Trump declared that he had won the
presidential election, notwithstanding that some votes cast had not yet been counted.
22. After all the votes had been counted and former Vice President Joseph Biden was
declared the victor, Defendants Trump and Giuliani and Defendant Trump’s supporters
embarked on a campaign to challenge as fraudulent the vote results in more than 60 lawsuits
filed in various state and federal courts.
23. Notwithstanding that the allegations of fraud were repeatedly rejected by the
courts in which these suits were filed, Defendants Trump and Giuliani together maintained that
Defendant Trump had actually prevailed in the election and continued to attack the integrity of
the state election offices and officials and the election results in those states that reported
Defendant Trump received fewer votes than then-former Vice President Biden.
24. Defendant Trump communicated these inflammatory and demonstrably false
views through various social media outlets, including Twitter, through which he had 89 million
followers.
25. Similarly, at a press conference held in the parking lot of Four Seasons Total
Landscaping in Pennsylvania held on November 7, 2020, Defendant Giuliani stated that there
had been widespread voter fraud in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh which he claimed accounted for
Defendant Trump’s loss in that state. Both cities have large African American populations.
26. Defendant Giuliani claimed that Philadelphia had “a sad history of voter
fraud.†He also named deceased African Americans, whom he falsely claimed were still allowed
to vote.
27. In another episode in the campaign mounted by Defendants Trump and Giuliani,
Defendant Giuliani said, “The margin in Michigan was 146,121, and these ballots were all cast
Case 1:21-cv-00400 Document 1 Filed 02/16/21 Page 8 of 32�
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basically in Detroit, that Biden won 80-20. So, you see a change as a result in the election in
Michigan if you take out Wayne County, so it’s a very significant case.†As a result, Defendant
Giuliani advocated rejecting the votes cast by voters in Detroit, the population of which is 78
percent African American. No evidence of such fraud was ever produced or found by any court
or state agency.
28. In still another episode in this campaign to instill doubt in the integrity of the
electoral process, Defendant Giuliani asserted at a press conference held on November 19, 2020
that Defendant Trump’s loss in Wisconsin was attributed to fraud in voting in Milwaukee and
Madison, Wisconsin, both of which have large African American populations.
29. In response to Defendant Trump and Giuliani’s repeated assertions that voting in
states where Defendant Trump lost was tainted by fraud, some supporters of Defendant Trump,
with his urging and support, harassed election workers in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada,
Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and other states and attempted to interfere with and/or stop the vote
count in those states.
30. Defendant Trump persisted in casting doubt on the integrity of the electoral
process in states where he lost and encouraging supporters to do the same, notwithstanding that
state election officials found no evidence of fraud and resistance to the election results expressed
by his supporters grew increasingly shrill and accusatory. Although officials rebutted the
allegations of fraud and urged calmer exchanges over the election results, supporters of
Defendant Trump, with his expressed support, continued to engage in personal and accusatory
attacks.
31. Georgia Republican election official Gabriel Sterling, for example, pleaded with
Trump to “[s]top inspiring people to commit potential acts of violence. Someone is going to get
Case 1:21-cv-00400 Document 1 Filed 02/16/21 Page 9 of 32�
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shot, someone is going to get killed. And it’s not right.†This plea, like others from state
election officials, went unheeded by Trump and his supporters.
32. Other threats of violence expressed by Trump supporters, with his endorsement,
continued unabated. On December 6, 2020, for example, armed protestors arrived at the home of
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, threatening violence after the results of the
election.
33. Similarly, on December 8, the official Twitter account of the Arizona GOP asked
supporters if they were willing to die for Defendant Trump, accompanied by a clip from the
movie “Rambo.â€
34. Acknowledging the existence of these threats of violence, Trump endorsed rather
than discouraged them. On December 10, 2020, for example, he tweeted: “People are upset, and
they have a right to be. Georgia not only supported Trump in 2016, but now. This is the only
State in the Deep South that went for Biden? Have they lost their minds? This is going to
escalate dramatically. This is a very dangerous moment in our history....†Notwithstanding the
danger that these threats of violence could escalate, Defendant Trump continued to claim that he
had won elections in states where the state-certified vote tallies showed otherwise.
35. As states finished certifying the official election results, confirming that
Defendant Trump had lost the presidential election, Defendants Trump and Giuliani began
characterizing the presidential election as stolen. On December 12, 2020, “Stop the Steal†rallies
occurred across the country where violence erupted among the demonstrators. Rather than
urging the demonstrators to act peacefully, Defendant Trump expressed his unqualified support
of those who participated in these rallies and their violent tactics and tweeted, “I’ll be seeing
them!â€
Case 1:21-cv-00400 Document 1 Filed 02/16/21 Page 10 of 32�
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36. Turning his attention away from challenging the state election results and toward
the final count of the Electoral College votes by Congress on January 6, 2021, Defendant Trump
began to rally his supporters to descend on Washington at that time. He tweeted: “Statistically
impossible to have lost the 2020 Election†and “Big protest in DC on January 6th. Be there, will
be wild!â€
37. In the days leading up to the “Save America†rally scheduled for January 6, 2021,
Defendant Trump repeatedly issued messages to his supporters expressing support for the use of
violent means to secure his reelection and stop the process confirming the election of former
Vice President Biden.
38. On social media message boards used by Trump supporters, supporters referred to
the need to “go to war†against those who they regarded as unreceptive to Defendant Trump’s
efforts to secure his reelection.
39. In yet another warning that the incendiary remarks expressed by Trump could
lead to violence, on December 28, 2020, former White House official Olivia Troye expressed
concern “that there will be violence on January 6th because the president himself encourages it.â€
Ms. Troye continued, “This is what [Trump] does. He tweets. He incites it. He gets his
followers and supporters to behave in this manner, and these people think they they’re being
patriotic because they are supporting Donald Trump.â€
40. Nonetheless, on January 1, 2021, Defendant Trump retweeted a tweet from the
chair of Women for America First, an organizer of the “Save America†rally, stating, “The
cavalry [sic] is coming, Mr. President!â€
41. On December 29, 2020, Enrique Tarrio, Chairman of the Proud Boys, posted a
message on the social media site Parler about the demonstration planned for January 6, 2021.
Case 1:21-cv-00400 Document 1 Filed 02/16/21 Page 11 of 32�
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Among other things, Tarrio announced that the Proud Boys would “turn out in record numbers
on Jan 6th but this time with a twist… We will not be wearing our traditional Black and Yellow.
We will be incognito and we will be spread across downtown DC in smaller teams. And who
knows … we might dress in all BLACK for the occasion.†Law enforcement investigating the
Capitol insurrection has attributed the statement about dressing in “all BLACK†as a reference to
dressing like the group known as “Antifa,†whom the Proud Boys have identified as an enemy of
their movement and are often depicted in the media wearing all black to demonstrations.
42. In early January, Proud Boys leader Joseph Biggs posted on the social media
platform Parler: “Every lawmaker who breaks their own stupid Fucking laws should be dragged
out of office and hung.â€
43. In an interview posted online on or about January 3, 2021, Mr. Biggs described
the Proud Boys’ efforts to organize and participate in events, stating that the group carefully
plans ahead around a common objective for the group to achieve at the event.
44. Defendant Trump encouraged and condoned the violence in which the Proud
Boys engaged. When asked to denounce the Proud Boys during the September 28, 2020
presidential debate, which had followed events over the summer in which Proud Boys members
were reported to have promoted and engaged in violence during rallies, Defendant Trump
condoned, rather than condemned, their violent conduct, telling members of the group: “Proud
Boys, stand back and stand by.â€
45. Understanding that Defendant Trump was endorsing their violent conduct and
enlisting them for future conflicts, Proud Boys Chairman Tarrio responded by tweeting:
“Standing by sir.â€
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46. Thomas Caldwell, a leader of Defendant Oath Keepers, was also directly involved
in coordinating and preparing for the insurrection at the Capitol.
47. On January 1, 2021, Caldwell sent a Facebook message with information about a
hotel in Northern Virginia where Oath Keepers members could stay and assemble when they
came to Washington, D.C. on January 6, 2021, stating that the hotel had “a good location and
would allow us to hunt at night if we wanted to.†This message further stated that gathering on
January 6 would be a “call to arms.â€
48. Following his father’s lead, on January 4, 2021, at a campaign rally in Georgia,
Donald Trump Jr. rallied the crowd by stating, “They’re not taking this White House. We’re
going to fight like hell.â€
49. Stoking the anger and fervor of the crowd assembled in Washington, D.C. for the
“Stop the Steal†rally scheduled for January 6, 2021, at a rally at Freedom Plaza in Washington,
D.C. held on January 5, 2021, the leader of the “Stop the Steal†event led the crowd of Trump
supporters in a chant of: “Victory or death!â€
50. On the morning of January 6, 2021, before the Congressional approval of the
Electoral College vote count was scheduled to occur later that day, Defendant Trump sent a
message by twitter to Vice President Pence, encouraging him to refuse to allow the state-certified
Electoral College ballots to be counted, as the Electoral Count Act of 1887 required. Instead,
Defendant Trump stated, “All Mike Pence has to do is send [the election] back to the States,
AND WE WIN.â€
51. The Electoral Count Act of 1887 requires that Congress convene on January 6 at
1:00 PM of the year after each presidential election in order to count the ballots cast by members
of the Electoral College and, absent objection to any of the ballots, certify the count to the Vice
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President, acting as President of the Senate, who is required to formally declare the victor in the
election.
52. Defendant Trump’s proposal to Vice President Pence as the President of the
Senate, that he decline to count the Electoral College ballots and, instead of declaring the winner
of the election, send the election back to the states, was in direct contravention of the legal
requirements that the Electoral Count Act of 1887 imposed on the Vice President.
II. The Actions of Defendants Trump and Giuliani at the “Save America†Rally
53. On the morning of January 6, 2021, before the “Save America†rally, Defendant
Trump urged his followers to resist the final count of the Electoral College ballots, misinforming
them in a tweet that “The States want to redo their votes. They found out they voted on a
FRAUD. Legislatures never approved. Let them do it. BE STRONG!†No state ever expressed
the view, attributed to them by Defendant Trump, that they wanted to “redo their votes.â€
54. Defendant Giuliani spoke immediately before Defendant Trump. In remarks
mirroring Defendant Trump’s prior messages, Defendant Giuliani began by making a series of
statements about the election contradicted by the state election officers, calling the votes lawfully
cast in favor of President Biden “crooked ballots†and stating that he was “going to find
criminality†and “proof this election was stolen.†Then, he incited the crowd to take violent
action, stating, “If we’re right, a lot of them will go to jail. So, let’s have trial by combat … I’ll
be darned if they’re going to take our free and fair vote … We’re going to fight to the very end to
make sure that doesn’t happen.â€
55. Then, Defendant Trump addressed the assembled crowd. Defendant Trump
began by condemning his political opposition and repeating the same unproven accusation,
rejected by the state election officers, that the election was stolen from him: “Hundreds of
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thousands of American patriots are committed to the honesty of our elections and the integrity of
our glorious Republic. All of us here today do not want to see our election victory stolen by
emboldened radical left Democrats, which is what they’re doing and stolen by the fake news
media. That’s what they’ve done and what they’re doing. We will never give up. We will never
concede, it doesn’t happen. You don’t concede when there’s theft involved.†No state or court
has credited Defendant Trump’s assertion that his opportunity to win the presidential election
was “stolen†from him.
56. Defendant Trump then began stoking the crowd’s anger and urging them to take
action to forcibly seize control of the process for counting and approving the Electoral College
ballots, stating: “Republicans are constantly fighting like a boxer with his hands tied behind his
back. It’s like a boxer, and we want to be so nice. We want to be so respectful of everybody,
including bad people. We’re going to have to fight much harder and Mike Pence is going to
have to come through for us. If he doesn’t, that will be a sad day for our country because you’re
sworn to uphold our constitution. Now it is up to Congress to confront this egregious assault on
our democracy. After this, we’re going to walk down, and I’ll be there with you. We’re going to
walk down. We’re going to walk down any one you want, but I think right here. We’re going
walk down to the Capitol, and we’re going to cheer on our brave Senators, and Congressmen and
women. We’re probably not going to be cheering so much for some of them because you’ll
never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength, and you have to be
strong.†It was Defendant Trump’s efforts to undermine the legitimacy of the presidential
election results, not the lawful actions of the state election officials, that constituted the
“egregious assault on our democracy†to which he referred.
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57. The call to arms by Defendant Trump had its intended effect. Immediately after
his incendiary remarks, the crowd began shouting and chanting, “Storm the Capitol,†“Invade the
Capitol Building,†and “Take the Capitol right now.â€
58. Rather than discourage the riotous action that was advocated, Defendant Trump
reinforced it by stating: “The radical left knows exactly what they’re doing. They’re ruthless and
it’s time that somebody did something about it.â€
59. Defendant Trump then roused the crowd further, shouting: “Something is wrong
here, something is really wrong, can’t have happened and we fight, we fight like hell, and if you
don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.â€
60. At this point, the crowd began chanting “Fight like Hell†and “Fight for Trump.â€
61. Then, Defendant Trump directed the crowd to descend upon the Capitol: “So we
are going to … walk down Pennsylvania Avenue …, and we are going to the Capitol, and we are
going to try and give … our Republicans, the weak ones because the strong ones don’t need any
of our help, we’re … going to try and give them the kind of pride and boldness that they need to
take back our country. So, let’s walk down Pennsylvania Avenue.â€
62. The permit obtained for the Save America rally expressly provided: “This permit
does not authorize a march from the Ellipse.†Defendant Trump nevertheless instructed the
angry crowd to march from the Ellipse to the Capitol for the purpose of “fight[ing] like hell,†and
therefore directed the crowd to take action outside the bounds of what the permit authorized.
III. The Insurrection at the Capitol
63. The U.S. Capitol, which is located at First Street, SE, in Washington, D.C., is
secured 24 hours a day by U.S. Capitol Police. Restrictions around the U.S. Capitol include
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permanent and temporary security barriers and posts manned by U.S. Capitol Police. Only
authorized people with appropriate identification were allowed access inside the U.S. Capitol.
64. On January 6, 2021, the exterior plaza of the U.S. Capitol was closed to members
of the public. Metal barriers were placed along pedestrian entrances approximately one hundred
feet from the west side entrance to the Capitol.
65. On January 6, 2021, at approximately 1:00 PM, in accordance with the
Constitution and federal law dictating the means by which Congress counts the states’ Electoral
Votes, including the date and time such counting shall occur, a joint session of the United Sates
Congress convened at the United States Capitol to certify the vote count of the 2020 presidential
election.
66. Defendant Proud Boys was a key instigator of the insurrection at the Capitol,
working in concert with Defendants Trump and Giuliani as they incited and directed an angry
mob to descend on the Capitol.
67. At approximately 12:50 PM on January 6, 2021, Defendant Proud Boys, rallied
by leader Joseph Biggs, coalesced and marched towards the Capitol while Trump was speaking
at the Save America rally.
68. En route to the Capitol, members of Defendant Proud Boys were engaged in
various chants and response calls, including “Fuck Antifa!†and “Whose streets? Our streets!â€
69. At the direction of the Defendant Proud Boys rally organizers, many Proud Boys
members abandoned their organization’s colors of black and yellow in order to wear the black
attire associated with Antifa.
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70. Captured on video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0MA5GjR6Zo, at
approximately 12:52 PM, Defendant Proud Boys head Biggs dispatched the leader of the assault
on the Capitol entrance.
71. Following this lead, more members of Defendant Proud Boys descended on the
Capitol, breaking through the metal barriers erected a hundred feet from the Capitol building and
overcoming the Capitol Police officers stationed there to repel any incursion on the Capitol.
72. Following the lead of the Defendant Proud Boys, who overcame the barriers
erected to protect the Capitol, the crowd dispatched by Defendant Trump descended on the
Capitol.
73. By the time the thousands of demonstrators arrived at the Capitol, the Proud Boys
had already begun compromising the protections erected by the Capitol Police near the base of
the Capitol.
74. As a result, the crowd that arrived passed easily through the outer ring of barriers
and was able to confront and ultimately overwhelm an inner array of Capitol Police and
barricades established as the last line of defense outside the Capitol building.
75. Having delayed delivering his incendiary remarks to the crowd at the Ellipse in
order to afford the Defendant Proud Boys an opportunity to arrive at the Capitol and overcome
its initial defenses, Defendant Trump acted in concert with the Proud Boys, allowing them to
clear the way for the arriving riotous crowd to descend on, and ultimately enter, the Capitol.
76. The crowd that Defendants Trump and Giuliani incited to march upon and
forcibly enter the Capitol erected gallows on the Capitol grounds and displayed a noose.
77. Members of the crowd, whom Defendants Trump and Giuliani incited to forcibly
enter the Capitol, proceeded as Defendants Trump and Giuliani directed them to interrupt the
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count of the Electoral College ballots with the purpose of precluding the final certification of the
election results required by law.
78. At the time the rioters initially broke into the Capitol, members of the House of
Representatives and the Senate were engaged in debating the tally of the votes cast by members
of the Electoral College.
79. Defendant Trump was watching live televised reports of the forcible entry into the
Capitol and the violence committed by the crowd dispatched by Defendants Trump and Giuliani.
Rather than take action to attempt to calm the riotous crowd or direct additional law enforcement
to the site, Defendant Trump egged on members of the riotous crowd by tweeting at 1:49 PM a
video of the “Save America†rally filmed shortly before, where he had rallied the crowd with his
clarion call: “Our country has had enough. We will not take it anymore and that’s what this is all
about . . . You’ll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength, and
you have to be strong.â€
80. Shortly after 2:00 PM, the riotous crowd breached the Capitol Building.
Windows and barricades were broken as the mob stormed into the National Statuary Hall, the
heart of the Capitol building.
81. Video recorded a member of Defendant Proud Boys as he broke through a Capitol
window at approximately 2:11 PM, using the clear-plastic shield seized from an overcome
Capitol Police Officer. Thereafter, members of the crowd, including some from the Defendant
Proud Boys, entered the Capitol through the broken window and then opened a door, through
which the riotous crowd streamed into the Capitol.
82. The member of Defendant Proud Boys who broke through the window with a
plastic shield then posted a self-congratulatory video of himself smoking a cigar in celebration of
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his unlawful entry, declaring: “Victory smoke in the Capitol, boys … I knew we could take this
shit over if we tried hard enough.â€
83. Other video live streamed to the social media site Parler captured Defendant
Proud Boys leader Joseph Biggs, who had entered the Capitol, responding to an inquiry asking,
“Hey Biggs, what do you gotta say†by smiling and pronouncing, “This is awesome!â€
84. Shortly after the Capitol was breached, the Senate was called into recess.
85. Chaos and violence reigned as riotous members of the crowd inflamed by remarks
from Defendants Trump and Giuliani streamed into the Capitol, overcoming most of the
remaining Capitol Police and descending upon Capitol offices of Members of Congress and their
staff. Rioters beat on the doors of the chamber of the House of Representatives where Defendant
Thompson and other members of the House were forced to shelter in place.
86. Employing ear pieces and walkie-talkies in order to communicate with each other
and coordinate their attack on the Capitol, members of Defendant Proud Boys inside the Capitol
Building continued to lead and coordinate facets of the attack on the Capitol in order to interfere
with the tally of Electoral College votes in which members of Congress were engaged.
87. Yet another video depicted a member of Defendant Proud Boys inside the Capitol
saying, “We just went ahead and stormed the Capitol. It’s about to get ugly.†He was
surrounded by riotous supporters who chanted “Our house†and were accompanied by another
member of Defendant Proud Boys who sarcastically called for “Nancy,†to summon the Speaker
of the House of the United States House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi.
88. Thereafter, members of Defendant Proud Boys and members of the riotous crowd
whose invasion of the Capitol was incited by Defendants Trump and Giuliani roamed the
Capitol, entering and rifling through Member offices, including the office of House Speaker
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Nancy Pelosi, leaving furniture and files in disarray and removing personal and official effects
including laptops containing confidential information. As they roamed the Capitol Building,
members of Defendant Proud Boys and members of the riotous crowd chanted, “Fight for
Trump.â€
89. Members of Defendant Proud Boys as well as members of the riotous crowd also
searched for Members of Congress in the halls and rooms of the Capitol. Several rioters
carried plastic handcuffs that would have permitted them to detain Members of Congress whom
they encountered.
90. Notwithstanding that Republican Members of Congress trapped in the Capitol
transmitted appeals to the White House to take immediate action to stop the insurrection, no
action was forthcoming as the President continued to watch the insurrection unfold in live
televised reports.
91. Soon after members of the riotous crowd dispatched by Defendants Trump and
Giuliani forcibly entered the Capitol and began roaming its halls and offices, Defendant Trump
called upon them to disrupt the Electoral College ballot count, tweeting that “Mike Pence didn’t
have the courage to do what should have been done …â€
92. When the Capitol was breached around 2:11 PM, then Vice President Pence was
present at the Capitol in his capacity as President of the Senate, in order to preside over the tally
of the Electoral College ballots.
93. Having declined to suspend the Electoral College vote tally as Defendant Trump
urged him to do, then Vice President Pence also became a target of the crowd’s ire, along with
Members of Congress, as rioters chanted “Hang Mike Pence.â€
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94. Once inside the Capitol, some members of the riotous crowd confirmed they were
acting upon the direction and at the behest of Defendant Trump. When the crowd confronted
Capitol Police inside the Capitol, they warned the Capitol Police officers, “You’re outnumbered.
There’s a fucking million of us out there. And we are listening to Trump – your boss.â€
Apparently believing that Defendant Trump’s inciteful remarks gave them license to enter and
overtake the Capitol, leaders of the riotous crowd also told Capitol Police, “We were invited here
by the President of the United States.†Rioters parading through the halls of the Capitol carried
flags and wore clothing and other paraphernalia bearing the name: “Trump.â€
95. As House Republican Conference Chair the Honorable Elizabeth L. Cheney
stated in her vote in favor of the Article of Impeachment on January 12, 2021, Defendant Trump
“summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack. Everything that
followed was his doing.â€
96. Then Senate Majority Leader Senator Mitch McConnell likewise observed in
remarks delivered on the Senate floor on January 19, 2021 the pivotal role of Defendant Trump
in inciting the attack on the Capitol, stating, “The mob was fed lies. They were provoked by the
President and other powerful people and they tried to use fear and violence to stop a specific
proceeding of the first branch of the federal government which they did not like.â€
97. Acting in concert with Defendant Proud Boys and the rest of the riotous mob
entering the Capitol, members of Defendant Oath Keepers wore paramilitary equipment,
helmets, reinforced vests and clothing with Oath Keepers paraphernalia, moving in a regimented
manner as members of the military are trained. Pursuing a purpose shared by Defendants Trump
and Giuliani as well as Defendant Proud Boys, Defendant Oath Keepers played a leadership role
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of the riotous crowd and provided military-style assistance sufficient to overcome any Capitol
Police resistance.
98. Members of Defendant Oath Keepers were equally clear that the purpose of their
unlawful presence at the Capitol was to interfere with the tally of Electoral College votes. One
member of Defendant Oath Keepers, for example, posted a photograph of herself at the Capitol
on the social media site Parler, along with the statement: “Me before forcing entry into the
Capitol Building. #stopthesteal #stormthecapitol #oathkeepers #ohiomilitia.†Another post late
in the day declared: “Yeah. We stormed the Capitol today. Teargassed, the whole, 9. Pushed
our way into the Rotunda. Made it into the Senate even. The news is lying (even Fox) about the
Historical Events we created today.â€
99. Like Defendant Proud Boys, members of Defendant Oath Keepers communicated
with portable devices that permitted them to coordinate their activities in the Capitol. A message
later posted on Facebook for example revealed Defendant Oath Keepers was transmitting
intelligence about the location of Members of Congress whom they were hunting. It said: “All
members are in the tunnels under capital seal them in. Turn on gas.†Another message
transmitted to Defendant Oath Keepers leader Thomas Caldwell during the attack reported:
“Tom, all legislators are down in the Tunnels 3 floors down,†and “Go through back house
chamber doors facing N left down hallway down steps.†Still another message among members
of Defendant Oath Keepers revealed the organized manner in which they pursued their mission:
"We have a good group. We have about 30-40 of us. We are sticking together and sticking to
the plan.â€
100. Reflecting on their success in interfering with the tally of the Electoral College
votes, Defendant Oath Keepers leader Thomas Caldwell posted a message on Facebook at
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approximately 7:49 PM on the same day with a video of himself inside the Capitol and the
message: “Us storming the castle. Please share. Sharon was with me. I am such an instigator!
She was ready for it man! Didn’t even mind the tear gas.â€
101. Gloating over their perceived success, Caldwell then sent another message
reporting: “Proud boys scuffled with cops and drove them inside to hide. Breached the doors.
One guy made it all the way to the house floor, another to Pelosi’s office. A good time.â€
102. Viewing their success in disrupting the Congress as a model for similar actions in
the future, Caldwell sent another message stating: “We need to do this at the local level. Let’s
storm the capitol in Ohio. Tell me when!â€
103. Members of the riotous crowd prominently displayed a Confederate flag within
the walls of the Capitol. Widely viewed as a symbol of the subjugation of African Americans as
slaves by the dominant white slave holders as well as a powerful reminder of the insurrection
caused by the secession of the southern states before the Civil War, members of the riotous
crowd carried the Confederate Flag as a banner reflecting much of the sentiment motivating
many who invaded the Capitol.
104. Outside the Capitol, rioters attacked Capitol Police officers, yelling “traitors†at
those law enforcement officers who were trying to protect the Capitol and the members of the
House of Representatives and Senate.
105. Rioters doused law enforcement officers with bear mace, a concentrated pepper
spray designed to deter bear attacks, i.e., not intended to be deployed against humans.
106. Capitol Police Officers were dragged and kicked.
107. At least one officer was beaten with the pole attached to an American flag.
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108. While the rioting crowd was forcibly entering the Capitol, roaming its halls and
desecrating its offices, that same day Defendant Giuliani joined the other Defendants in seeking
to delay and derail the tally of the Electoral College ballots by calling Members of Congress,
urging them to do everything they could to “slow it down†and “delay†the Electoral College
vote count in Congress.
109. In these phone call communications with selected Members of Congress while the
insurrection was ongoing on January 6, Defendant Giuliani urged: “And I know they’re
reconvening at eight tonight, but the only strategy we can follow is to object to numerous states
and raise issues so that we get ourselves into tomorrow ideally until the end of tomorrow.â€
110. At 6:01 PM, Defendant Trump expressed the view that the insurrection attempted
by the rioting crowd dispatched by Trump and Giuliani and the accompanying violence at the
Capitol were justified and to be expected, tweeting: “These are the things and events that happen
when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away from
great patriots who have been badly & unfairly treated for so long. Go home with love & in
peace. Remember this day forever!†This again was a complete and utter lie by Trump trying to
tell the American people that he won a landslide election victory which was being stripped away.
111. The final announcement by Vice President Mike Pence of the count of the
Electoral College votes, which provided the imprimatur of Congress on the results of the
presidential election held in 2020, did not occur until 3:41 AM the next morning, January 7,
2021.
112. Five people died during the course of the riot and/or as a result of injuries
sustained during the riot. Those casualties included one member of law enforcement.
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113. Fights between rioters and officers of the Capitol Police resulted in the
hospitalization of more than 50 officers.
114. Faced with the threat of criminal prosecution, many of the rioting crowd members
justified their presence and their actions as occurring because Defendants Trump and/or Giuliani
instructed them to proceed in this unruly and disruptive manner, and that these individuals were
following orders from their then-President and his attorney.
IV. Plaintiff, the Honorable Bennie Thompson
115. When the attack on the Capitol began, Plaintiff Thompson was seated in Gallery
C of the House of Representatives, prepared to discharge his duties to supervise and eventually
vote on approval of the count of the Electoral College ballots.
116. Plaintiff Thompson was present when the proceeding began at 1:00 PM, as
required by the Electoral Count Act of 1887.
117. Between approximately 2:15 and 2:20 PM, soon after rioters had breached the
Capitol Building, the House was called into recess.
118. Plaintiff Thompson heard rioters pounding on the door of the House chamber and
saw security guards move furniture to blockade the door. He then heard the rioters trying to
break into the chamber refer to Speaker Pelosi as a “bitch,†saying they wanted to get their hands
on her and refer to Vice President Pence as having betrayed President Trump.
119. Plaintiff Thompson witnessed security personnel draw their firearms to protect
Plaintiff Thompson and other Members of Congress, who were there to perform their legally
required duties, from the violent rioters who were attempting to disrupt, and ultimately did
disrupt, this important function of Congress.
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120. Through the blocked doors, Plaintiff Thompson heard threats of physical violence
against any Member who attempted to proceed to approve the Electoral College ballot count.
121. Plaintiff Thompson heard a gunshot, the source of which, at the time, was
unknown to him, although he later learned that it had killed one of the rioters who had forced her
way into the Capitol lobby.
122. Capitol security instructed Plaintiff Thompson and the other lawmakers to lie on
the floor, don gas masks that were stored under seats in the gallery, and to move to the other side
of the gallery. After an extended period of time had elapsed, during which Plaintiff Thompson
and his colleagues were unable to move or leave the gallery because the rioters posed a
continuing threat to their safety, Capitol security led Plaintiff Thompson and the other lawmakers
through a tunnel out of the Capitol to the Longworth House Office Building, where they were
directed to shelter in a room with 200-300 other lawmakers, staff members, and family members.
123. During this period, Plaintiff Thompson received telephone calls from his wife
who reported what she saw on the televised reports of violence at the Capitol. Plaintiff
Thompson ultimately moved to a different room in the Longworth Building, and at about 6:00
P.M. was moved to a secure location in the Capitol.
124. Plaintiff Thompson personally witnessed rioters who had gotten far into the
building and were lying face down on the floor and restrained after being arrested by security.
125. All these events took place during a worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. Plaintiff
Thompson was 72 years old at the time and therefore within the age group for which the virus
posed the greatest risk to his health.
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126. By being required to shelter in place, Plaintiff Thompson and other Members of
Congress were forced to occupy space that did not allow for the social distancing measures that
minimized the risk of transmission of the virus.
127. Shortly after the siege on the Capitol ended, at least two other Members of
Congress who shared the confined space with Plaintiff Thompson tested positive for COVID-19.
128. Until the proceedings with the count of the Electoral College ballots resumed at
approximately 8:00 PM, Plaintiff Thompson and other Members were barred from leaving the
Capitol Building because their safety remained at risk from rioting crowd members who were
still present.
129. During this entire time, Plaintiff Thompson reasonably feared for his physical
safety. While trapped in the building, during the siege by the rioters that Defendants unleashed
on the Capitol, Plaintiff Thompson feared for his life and worried that he might never see his
family again.
130. On January 13, 2021, an Article of Impeachment was passed by a bipartisan
majority of the House of Representatives, citing Defendant Trump for inciting the violence
perpetrated at the Capitol. The Article of Impeachment provides, in part:
On January 6, 2021, pursuant to the 12th Amendment to the
Constitution of the United States, the Vice President of the United
States, the House of Representatives, and the Senate met at the
United States Capitol for a Joint Session of Congress to count the
votes of the Electoral College. In the months preceding the Joint
Session, President Trump repeatedly issued false statements
asserting that the Presidential election results were the product of
widespread fraud and should not be accepted by the American
people or certified by State or Federal officials. Shortly before the
Joint Session commenced, President Trump, addressed a crowd at
the Ellipse in Washington, D.C. There, he reiterated false claims
that “we won this election, and we won it by a landslide.†He also
willfully made statements that, in context, encouraged — and
foreseeably resulted in — lawless action at the Capitol, such as: “if
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you don’t fight like hell you're not going to have a country
anymore.†Thus incited by President Trump, members of the
crowd he had addressed, in an attempt to, among other objectives,
interfere with the Joint Session's solemn constitutional duty to
certify the results of the 2020 Presidential election, unlawfully
breached and vandalized the Capitol, injured and killed law
enforcement personnel, menaced Members of Congress, the Vice
President, and Congressional personnel, and engaged in other
violent, deadly, destructive and seditious acts.
131. At the conclusion of President Trump’s impeachment trial, the Senate voted to
acquit Defendant Trump, finding Defendant Trump not guilty of inciting the deadly riot at the
Capitol by a vote of 57 to 43.
132. Minutes after voting to acquit Defendant Trump, Senate Minority Leader Mitch
McConnell gave a speech on the floor of the Senate. Senator McConnell began by
acknowledging Defendant Trump’s culpability: “There is no question that President Trump is
practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of that day. The people who
stormed this building believed they were acting on the wishes and instructions of their president.
And their having that belief was a foreseeable consequence of the growing crescendo of false
statements, conspiracy theories, and reckless hyperbole which the defeated President kept
shouting into the largest megaphone on planet Earth.†However, like the other Senators who
voted to acquit Defendant Trump, Senator McConnell did not believe that the impeachment
process was constitutional. Senator McConnell went on to state that “President Trump is still
liable for everything he did while he was in office, as an ordinary citizen, unless the statute of
limitations has run, still liable for everything he did while in office, didn't get away with
anything yet – yet. We have a criminal justice system in this country. We have civil litigation.
And former presidents are not immune from being held accountable by either one.â€
Case 1:21-cv-00400 Document 1 Filed 02/16/21 Page 29 of 32�
30
CAUSE OF ACTION
Violation of the Ku Klux Klan Act
133. Plaintiff incorporates herein by reference the allegations contained in all
preceding paragraphs.
134. Under the Ku Klux Klan Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1985(1), Defendants may not “conspire
to prevent, by force, intimidation, or threat, any person … holding any office, trust, or place of
confidence under the United States … from discharging any duties thereof; or to induce by like
means any officer of the United States to leave any … place[] where his duties as an officer are
required to be performed, or … to molest, interrupt, hinder, or impede him in the discharge of his
official duties.â€
135. Defendants Trump, Giuliani, Proud Boys, and Oath Keepers plotted, coordinated,
and executed a common plan to prevent Congress from discharging its official duties in
certifying the results of the presidential election.
136. In furtherance of this conspiracy, Defendants Trump and Giuliani engaged in a
concerted campaign to misinform their supporters and the public, encouraging and promoting
intimidation and violence in furtherance of their common plan to promote the re-election of
Defendant Trump, even after the states had certified election results decisively showing he lost
the election, and to disrupt the legally required process before Congress to supervise the counting
of the Electoral College ballots and certify the results of that count.
137. As a result, Defendant Trump acted beyond the outer perimeter of his official
duties and therefore is susceptible to suit in his personal capacity.
Case 1:21-cv-00400 Document 1 Filed 02/16/21 Page 30 of 32�
31
138. The activities alleged above were undertaken by all Defendants as co-conspirators
for the purpose of seeking to prevent Plaintiff Thompson and other members of Congress from
certifying that former Vice President Biden won the presidential election.
139. As a result of the acts set out in the above paragraphs committed in furtherance of
this conspiracy, Plaintiff Thompson was hindered and impeded in the discharge of his official
duties and suffered the deprivation of his right to be free from intimidation and threats in the
discharge of his official duties, as explicitly protected under Ku Klux Klan Act. During the time
when the Capitol was under attack, Plaintiff Thompson suffered emotional distress.
140. As a result, Plaintiff Thompson seeks an award of compensatory damages.
141. As the unlawful actions taken by the Defendants were malicious and in reckless
disregard of federally protected rights, Plaintiff Thompson seeks an award of punitive damages
to punish the Defendants for engaging in a concerted and continuing course of unlawful conduct
and to deter the Defendants and others from engaging in similar unlawful conduct in the future.
PRAYER FOR RELIEF
Wherefore, Plaintiff respectfully requests an award of the following relief:
A. A declaratory judgment that the actions described herein constitute a violation of
42 U.S.C. § 1985(1);
B. Injunctive relief enjoining Defendants from engaging in future violations of 42
U.S.C. § 1985(1);
C. Compensatory in an amount to be determined at trial;
D. Punitive damages in an amount to be determined at trial;
E. An award of costs and reasonable attorney’s fees pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1988;
F. Such other relief as the Court deems necessary and just.
Case 1:21-cv-00400 Document 1 Filed 02/16/21 Page 31 of 32�
32
Dated: February 16, 2021
Respectfully submitted,
/s/ Janette Louard
Janette Louard (pro hac vice motion to be
filed)
Anthony P. Ashton, Bar No. MD0096
NAACP
Office of General Counsel
4805 Mount Hope Drive
Baltimore, MD 21215
Telephone: (410) 580-5777
jlouard@naacpnet.org
aashton@naacpnet.org
/s/ Joseph M. Sellers
Joseph M. Sellers, Bar No. 318410
Brian Corman, Bar No. 1008635
Alison S. Deich, Bar No. 1572878 (application
for admission to be filed)
COHEN MILSTEIN SELLERS & TOLL PLLC
1100 New York Avenue, N.W. Suite 500, East
Tower Washington, DC 20005
Telephone: (202) 408-4600
Facsimile: (202) 408-4699
jsellers@cohenmilstein.com
bcorman@cohenmilstein.com
adeich@cohenmilstein.com
Case 1:21-cv-00400 Document 1 Filed 02/16/21 Page 32 of 32�
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/dominion-voting-giuliani-trump-1.5886273
Toronto's Dominion Voting Systems sues Rudy Giuliani for $1.3B US
Trump's personal attorney the latest to be served by Canada-U.S. voting systems company
Rudy Giuliani, former U.S. president Donald Trump's personal attorney,
appears at a Michigan legislative hearing on voter fraud in Lansing,
Mich., on Dec. 2, 2020. Giuliani is accused of defamation in a $1.3
billion US lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems. (Mike Mulholland/The Grand Rapids Press/AP)
Dominion Voting Systems filed a $1.3 billion US lawsuit against former U.S. president Donald Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani, accusing him of defamation in what it called his "big lie" campaign about widespread fraud in the presidential election, court documents on Monday showed.
Trump and his allies spent two months denying his election defeat to Democrat Joe Biden in the Nov. 3 election, and claiming without evidence that it was the result of widespread voter fraud, before his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
"For Dominion — whose business is producing and providing voting systems for elections — there are no accusations that could do more to damage Dominion's business or to impugn Dominion's integrity, ethics, honesty, and financial integrity," the lawsuit says. "Giuliani's statements were calculated to — and did in fact — provoke outrage and cause Dominion enormous harm."
Giuliani and his lawyer, Robert Costello, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Giuliani has stood by his claims about the election, saying during a radio show last week he is being attacked for "exercising my right of free speech and defending my client."
Dominion is seeking $1.3 billion in damages from the former New York City mayor, alleging in the lawsuit that "he and his allies manufactured and disseminated the 'Big Lie,' which foreseeably went viral and deceived millions of people into believing that Dominion had stolen their votes and fixed the election."
The company, which formed in Toronto in 2002 and has U.S. headquarters in Denver, Co., filed an earlier lawsuit against Trump campaign lawyer Sidney Powell, whom the company also accused of spreading false conspiracy theories for two months about the election.
Lawsuit meant 'to set the record straight'
Dominion said it filed the Giuliani lawsuit "to set the record straight" and to "stand up for itself, its employees, and the electoral process."
Dominion states in its lawsuit that it has spent $565,000 on private security to protect its employees, who are facing harassment and death threats.
Separately, a senior Dominion employee, Eric Coomer, has also filed a defamation lawsuit against the Trump campaign, saying he had been driven into hiding because of death threats from Trump supporters.
Dominion is a major U.S. manufacturer of voting machines, and various Dominion machines were used in more than two dozen states during the 2020 election. The company's systems have also been used in federal leadership races and in some provinces and municipalities, according to the Canadian Press.
Conservative media figures also put on notice
One of those states, Michigan, had threatened Dominion founder John Poulos with a subpoena in order to testify at a state senate committee hearing.
At the Dec. 15 session, Poulos appeared voluntarily and rebutted a series of allegations and conspiracy theories that had been put forth, pointing out to Republican lawmakers that no one had accused the company of criminal wrongdoing "under oath," only in the court of public opinion and on social media.
"It is technologically impossible to see votes being counted in real-time or to flip them," said Poulos, of one allegation. "The comments about our company being started in Venezuela with Cuban money with the intent to steal elections are beyond bizarre and are complete lies," he said, addressing another claim.
President and CEO of Dominion Voting Systems John Poulos, seen on Jan. 9, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., rebutted a series of claims about election fraud last month at a Michigan hearing. (Alex Wong/Fetty Images)
Poulos also repeatedly pointed out that paper ballot counts matched the tabulations of Dominion's machines.
In addition to the Trump campaign officials, Dominion has also threatened several media figures at Fox News, Newsmax and OANN with potential legal action.
Some pundits at those channels have already been forced to air a retraction of false claims levelled against another voting software company, Smartmatic.
Earlier this month, the right-wing website The American Thinker admitted fault over several articles it published from contributors after Dominion threatened legal action.
"Post-truth is pre-fascism." So wrote historian Timothy Snyder in his 2017 book, On Tyranny. He penned it in the lead-up to Donald Trump's inauguration, and he's been warning ever since: The United States is not exceptional, a coup could be attempted there, too. Now, Trump's presidency is in its dying days. He has been impeached by the House again, this time for "incitement of insurrection." But the big lie, as Snyder calls it, that Trump seeded — that the 2020 election was stolen from him — what becomes of that lie now? Today on Front Burner, Snyder explores that question. 20:15
"These pieces rely on discredited sources who have peddled debunked theories about Dominion's supposed ties to Venezuela, fraud on Dominion's machines that resulted in massive vote switching or weighted votes, and other claims falsely stating that there is credible evidence that Dominion acted fraudulently," the website said.
"These statements are completely false and have no basis in fact."
A group of prominent attorneys last week asked New York's judiciary to suspend Giuliani's law licence because he made false claims in post-election lawsuits and because he urged Trump's supporters to engage in a "trial by combat" shortly before they stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
With files from CBC News
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Douglas Keith III posted on Trump, Giuliani sued in federal court over role in Capitol riot | CBC News:
"Reply to @John Douglas: Are your legs sore?"
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Douglas Keith III posted on Trump, Giuliani sued in federal court over role in Capitol riot | CBC News:
"Reply to @John Douglas:"
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Douglas Keith III posted on Trump, Giuliani sued in federal court over role in Capitol riot | CBC News:
"Reply to @Richard Hertz: I could care less about each side. I want equality and justice. Don't you..."
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Douglas Keith III posted on Trump, Giuliani sued in federal court over role in Capitol riot | CBC News:
"Reply to @George Kay: You must miss a lot. The clip is on CBC."
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