Representative Swalwell sues Trump over alleged role in assault on Capitol Hill

In a lawsuit in federal court in Washington, DC on Friday, Democratic Representative Eric Swalwell sued former President Donald Trump and some of his allies, including his son Donald Trump Jr., personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and GOP Representative Mo Brooks, on their alleged roles in the events leading up to and surrounding the assault on Capitol Hill on January 6.

In the 65-page trial, Swalwell, who was responsible for impeaching the House in Trump’s second Senate trial, alleges that they all directly instigated violence on the U.S. Capitol by making “a clear call to action “to which the crowd responded.

“Trump directly incited the violence on Capitol Hill that followed and then observed the building overflow with approval,” the lawsuit alleges.

“As Trump ordered them to go to Capitol Hill, insurgents were already pushing their way through barricades, trying to break through the building, while blasting Trump’s speech on a megaphone,” he said.

He also claims that the defendants also violated federal laws, including DC’s anti-terrorism law.

“After failing miserably with two impeachment hoaxes, [Swalwell is] attacking our greatest president with yet another witch hunt, “Trump senior adviser Jason Miller told ABC News in response to the lawsuit.” It’s a shame that a compromised congressman like Swalwell still sits on the House Intelligence Committee. “

In a statement to ABC News in January, Trump campaign officials denied that active members of his team were involved in planning the rally that preceded the riot.

No one named in the lawsuit has yet commented on the allegations.

Swalwell alleges in the record that the events at Capitol Hill “were a direct and foreseeable consequence of the illegal actions of the defendants”, and in a statement posted to his Twitter account, Swalwell said they all bore responsibility for the injuries and destruction which followed.

“As a direct and foreseeable consequence of the defendants ‘false and inflammatory allegations of fraud and theft, and in direct response to the defendants’ express calls for violence at the rally, a violent mob attacked the United States Capitol and stopped the count of the electoral college by Congress. The defendants rallied, ignited and incited the crowd, and as such are fully responsible for the injuries and destruction that followed, ”the lawsuit claims.

This is the second such trial to hold the former president and his relatives accountable for their actions leading up to and around January 6.

The Chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, Representative Bennie Thompson, a Democrat from Mississippi, alleged in a lawsuit last month that Trump, Giuliani the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers conspired to violate the 1871 law on the Ku Klux Klan, which prohibits any designed action. to prevent Congress from carrying out its duties, when they incited the January 6 riot on Capitol Hill.