Cops sue over injuries from the Jan.6 invasion of the Capitol

Two U.S. Capitol Police officers sued Donald Trump, blaming him for “the physical and emotional injuries” they suffered as a result of the Jan.6 invasion of Capitol Hill by a mob of supporters of the former president.

The lawsuit filed Tuesday said Trump “ignited, abetted, incited, directed and aided and abetted” the rioters who broke into the building, forcing a joint session of Congress into hiding and killing five.

The complaint from police officers Sidney Hemby and James Blassingame, who have been with the force for 11 and 17 years respectively, said that Trump’s conduct “caused injuries to the United States Capitol police officers and Department of Justice officers. metropolitan police “, including themselves.

Blassingame “suffered head and back injuries” and continues to be “haunted” by the attack, according to the complaint. Hemby’s left hand and left knee became swollen and painful after the riot, and he receives physical therapy for up to three days a week for his neck and back, according to the lawsuit.

The agents are each claiming more than $ 75,000 in compensatory damages, says their lawsuit, which was filed in federal court in Washington. Hemby and Blassingame are the first officers to continue the invasion.

They are also seeking punitive damages against Trump “to punish him for his intentional, gratuitous and reckless conduct, and to deter others from engaging in similar behavior,” the complaint states.

A Trump spokesperson did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on the trial.

Trump was impeached in the House on an article of “incitement to insurgency,” but was acquitted in the Senate, which is split equally between Republicans and Democrats. His defense team at the Senate trial argued that Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric at a rally outside the White House on January 6 could not be viewed as incitement to violence or insurgency.

But Hemby and Blassingame’s 40-page complaint directly links Trump’s pre-riot speech, in which he told his supporters they had to “fight like hell” and march to Capitol Hill, with the violence that followed.

“As he was making the remarks, Trump’s supporters on the Ellipse started chanting ‘Fight like hell’ and ‘Fight for Trump’. Once he was done speaking, they moved on to “Storm the Capitol,” “Invade the Capitol Building,” and “Take the Capitol Now,” the complaint alleged.

“As Trump concluded his speech near the White House, his supporters who were already on Capitol Hill turned into insurgents,” he said.

The complaint says Hemby and Blassingame were chased, beaten, sprayed with chemicals and run over the doors of the Capitol by mobs.

“Officer Hemby has been relentlessly attacked,” the lawsuit alleged. “He was bleeding from a cut within an inch of his eye. He had cuts and grazes on his face and hands and his body was stuck against a large metal door, repelling attacks.”

Near the crypt of the Capitol, below the rotunda, the rioters “threw objects and hit Officer Blassingame and the other USCP officers with their fists and weapons”, according to the complaint.

“A strong wave of insurgents pushed forward and slammed Officer Blassingame against a stone column. He hit his spine and the back of his head and was unable to move,” he said.

The lawsuit alleges rioters shouted the N word at Blassingame “throughout the attack” to the point that he “lost count of the many times the racial insult was thrown at him”.

The complaint also points out that Republican lawmakers at the time, as well as some of the many people arrested in connection with the invasion, credited Trump with spurring the riot.