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By Colleen Long and Michael Balsamo | Associated press
WASHINGTON – United States Capitol Police officers who were attacked and beaten in the Capitol Riot filed a complaint Thursday against former President Donald Trump, his allies and members of far-right groups , accusing them of intentionally sending a violent mob on Jan.6 to disrupt Congressional certification of the election.
The lawsuit in federal court in Washington alleges that Trump “worked with white supremacists, violent extremist groups and campaign supporters to violate the Ku Klux Klan law and commit acts of domestic terrorism in an illegal effort to stay in power “.
The complaint was filed on behalf of the seven officers by the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights under the Act. He names the former president, the Trump campaign, Trump ally Roger Stone and members of the extremist groups the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers who were on Capitol Hill and in Washington on January 6.
Two other similar cases have been filed in recent months by Democratic members of Congress. The lawsuits allege the actions of Trump and his allies led to the violent siege on Capitol Hill that injured dozens of police officers, interrupted Democrat Joe Biden’s certification of election victory and sent lawmakers running for their lives as rioters burst into the seat of American democracy wielding bats, sticks and other weapons.
A House committee began to seriously investigate what happened that day, sending requests for documents to intelligence, law enforcement and other government agencies on Wednesday. Their biggest request to date has been to the National Archives for information on Trump and his former team.
Trump accused the committee of violating “long-standing legal principles of privilege,” but his team made no immediate comment on Thursday’s trial.
“Executive privilege will be upheld, not only on behalf of my administration and the patriots who have worked alongside me, but on behalf of the office of the President of the United States and the future of our nation,” Trump said.
The trial names several people as accused who have been charged with federal riot-related crimes. They allegedly “conspired to use force, intimidation and threats to prevent Joe Biden and Kamala Harris from taking office, to prevent Congress from counting electoral votes and to prevent the Capitol Police from carrying out their legal duties “.
The dossier provides vivid accounts of injuries sustained by officers as they attempted to repel the crowd as rioters pushed back the overwhelmed ranks of law enforcement and stormed into the Capitol. One officer, Jason DeRoche, was beaten with batteries and sprayed with mace and bear spray until his swollen eyes were closed. A second officer, Governor Latson, was inside the Senate Chamber when rioters walked through the doors and beat him, shouting racial slurs, according to the prosecution.
“We have joined the Capitol Police to uphold the law and protect the Capitol community,” the group of officers said in a statement released by their lawyers. “On January 6, we tried to prevent people from breaking the law and destroying our democracy. Since then, our jobs and those of our colleagues have become immeasurably more dangerous. We want to do what we can to make sure the people who did this are held accountable and no one can do it again. “
The documents requested by the House committee this week are just the start of what is expected to be a long, partisan and spiteful congressional investigation into how the mob may have infiltrated the Capitol and disrupted the certification of the President’s victory. Democrat Joe Biden, inflicting the most serious assault on Congress in two centuries.
Committee members are also considering asking carriers to keep phone records of several people, including members of Congress, in an attempt to determine who knew what about the ongoing riot and when they found out. . With chants of “Hang Mike Pence”, rioters sent then Vice President and members of Congress running for their lives, causing more than a million dollars in damage and injuring dozens of police officers. .
The requests were made for the White House records of the National Archives, as well as material from the Departments of Defense, Justice, Homeland Security and Home Affairs, as well as the FBI and the Director’s Office. national intelligence.
So far, the committee has heard from police officers who were on Capitol Hill on January 6. In moving testimony, these police officers spoke of how frightened and frustrated they were at the inability of law enforcement officials to foresee the potential for violence and understand the scale of planning by Trump supporters.
A Capitol Police officer who shot dead protester Ashli Babbitt was cleared months ago of criminal wrongdoing and was internally cleared by the department this week, and planned to reveal his identity in an interview with NBC to air Thursday.
PA Congresswoman Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.
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