ALERT: Seven US Capitol Police officers file federal civil suit against Donald Trump, key Trump allies & high-profile Jan 6 defendants .. in connection with US Capitol Insurrection
Citing series of Trump tweets/statements, alleging conspiracy, assault, battery, seeking damages pic.twitter.com/yV6gRR5wZC
— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) August 26, 2021
Remember the old quote ‘Time is what keeps everything from happening at once’? Like so many other legacy statements, that no longer appears to be working.
Per the Washington Post:
Seven U.S. Capitol Police officers on Thursday sued former president Donald Trump and more than a dozen alleged participants in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, saying the defendants are responsible for the officers being “violently assaulted, spat on, tear-gassed, bear-sprayed, subjected to racial slurs and epithets, and put in fear for their lives.”
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, alleges that Trump, by falsely claiming the presidential election was rigged, incited a mob of his supporters to storm the Capitol in an effort to stop Congress from confirming President Biden’s victory…
While hundreds of demonstrators besieged the historic building, many of them armed with bludgeons, cans of noxious spray and other weapons, the lawsuit says, Trump “reportedly was watching live television coverage” and “refused to call off the attackers, whom he had personally directed to the Capitol just moments before.”The complaint says Trump and other defendants, including the former president’s longtime friend Roger Stone, “encouraged and supported acts of violence, knowing full well that among his supporters were such groups and individuals as the Proud Boys, who had demonstrated their propensity to use violence” against Trump critics.
Representatives for Trump could not be immediately reached for comment, but his lawyers in similar lawsuits have argued he has absolute immunity from lawsuits over official actions taken while he was in office and his comments are shielded by the First Amendment. A spokesman for Trump has also said the president did not plan or organize the Jan. 6 rally on the Ellipse that preceded the riot or incite or conspire to incite violence at the Capitol.
Stone — who could not be reached immediately for comment — has consistently said he was not involved in the Capitol riot and did not have advance knowledge of the breach, and has not been accused of any crime…
The lawsuits does not seek a specific monetary award but asks for compensatory and punitive damages “in an amount to be determined by the jury at trust.”
Ken
I guess we’ll have to determine if incitement to riot is an official action. If so, it really opens up options for the Biden administration.
Major Major Major Major
s’ok, even in physics time gets pretty handwavey.
Ken
@Major Major Major Major: The preferred term is “timey-wimey stuff”.
Betsy
“Legacy statements.” You’re good, AL. Really good.
Martin
When all is said and done, we’ll have evacuated close to 1% of the country of Afghanistan.
gene108
I wonder how good the plaintiff’s lawyers are? And when those lawyers expect to be paid?
Trump will use every delay tactic possible, because that’s what he’s been doing to grind down lawsuits from contractors to Congress for 45 years.
Mallard Filmore
@Martin:
That is good. Afghanistan will have a water crisis in a few years. Iran on the west is already heading into some botched water problems that broke Syria apart. They can’t migrate east into China.
Lord Fartdaddy (Formerly, Mumphrey, Smedley Darlington Mingobat, et al.)
I hope that fuckhead spends the rest of his life watching lawsuits eat away at everything he still has left. I hope he and his shitbag kids all end their shitty lives begging for cheeseburders and cocaine on some filthy Florida beach.
Anomalous Cowherd
OK, I need some help here. I’m getting old and easily confused. Could someone please explain the difference between a suicide bomber and an anti-vax, anti-mask conservative? (I really miss the olden times…)
MomSense
@Martin:
And this is why I didn’t question Biden’s choice of Austin. He knew that he needed someone with experience that he could trust. Fuck the media. They have handled this horrific situation better than we had a right to expect.
Baud
@Anomalous Cowherd:
Efficiency.
JoyceH
@gene108: He doesn’t have those free government lawyers anymore. And with his track record of not paying his lawyers and getting them disbarred, he’s going to be having trouble finding any lawyers, and certainly no competent lawyers, willing to represent him.
debbie
@Ken:
TFNYT will no doubt vociferously defend that. //
Mallard Filmore
@Baud:
Fast vs volume.
debbie
I’m kind of surprised none of the four who testified in the House are included in the lawsuit. ?
Baud
@gene108:
The lawyers are Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. They’re a public interest organization. They won’t give up.
JPL
@Lord Fartdaddy (Formerly, Mumphrey, Smedley Darlington Mingobat, et al.): Suicide bombers die, while a lot of anti-vaxxers live another day and continue killing.
does that help answer your question?
Geminid
A lawsuit similar to that of the Capitol police was filed by people injured in the car attack that killed Heather Heyer in Charlottesville. The defendents, individuals and organizations that organized the “Unite the Right” rally, have claimed that they cannot be held responsible for a lone wolf attack, but the judge has ruled to the contrary. Defending themselves so far has put severe financial stress on outfits like the League of the South and Richard Spencer’s Identity Evropa, which staged the tiki torch march the night before the rally.
Former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance wrote a good op ed for the Washington Post a couple months ago, talking about potential of civil suits for developing information and punishing wrongdoers. They take time, though. Because of preliminary appeals and foot dragging by defendents, the trial will only start next month at the Federal Court in Charlottesville. The lawsuit is titled, Simes v. Kessler.
West of the Rockies
I know that the damn wheels of justice grind sloooowly, but, Christ, I can hardly wait until the hideous Stone, the heinous Trump, and man-pig hybrid Pompeo are genuinely in legal, emotional, and psychological misery.
Mart
I want an investigation into who funded the sickening big screen Nazi movie shown on the Ellipse.
Mart
Here is a link to the movie at the Ellipse explainer. Some scary shit at a President’s rally. Think this would get you in big trouble in GE.
https://www.justsecurity.org/74504/movie-at-the-ellipse-a-study-in-fascist-propaganda/
VOR
@JoyceH: I remember TFG was described as a lawyer’s nightmare client: doesn’t listen, doesn’t shut up, and doesn’t pay.
Chris Johnson
I think people do know exactly what went down, from who, why, and how.
It’s a matter of proving it.
Spanky
@Anomalous Cowherd:
Suicide bombers don’t whine.
Roger Moore
@Anomalous Cowherd:
Suicide bombers are upfront about their desire to kill people.
bbleh
@gene108: I hope they drag this through every MSM outlet, every possible legal venue, and every social medium, if for no other reason than to blacken the reputations of those scumbags for the rest of time.
Kay
@Geminid:
Thank you. I’m glad.
Geminid
@Geminid: Correction: the lawsuit arising from the Charlottesvile rally is titled Sines v. Kessler, not Simes. The lead attorney, Robbie Kaplan, represented Edie Winsor in Winsor v. U.S., in which the Supreme Court struck down parts of the DOMA Act which kept Ms. Winsor from receiving a spousal tax exemption on her wife’s estate. This case was a predecessor to the Obergefel decision that vindicated the right of same sex marriage.
Kaplan also represents E. Jean Carroll in her defamation lawsuit againt Donald Trump.
Kay
@Geminid:
This is going to be some trial. I’m thrilled they’re doing it.
Geminid
@Kay: I’m thrilled also. There will be some tight security in downtown Charlottesville for a while, but it will be worth it.
randy khan
@Baud:
And they’re very good.
Major Major Major Major
@Ken: this is pretty consistent with some of the latest pop sci I’ve read
Bill Arnold
@West of the Rockies:
Trump, at least, is miserable. He lost, badly, and to compensate, ever since he has been believing in a non-existent reality where he actually won. Losing is impossible for his narcissistic ego, therefore real reality isn’t real, and yet every day he observes growing cracks in his constructed reality, that he must by his nature believe are also illusions.
Bill Arnold
@Anomalous Cowherd:
Anti-vax/anti-mask “conservatives”[1] have a much higher body count. Currently they are racking up around a Jonestown per day.
[1] delusional selfish radicals.
John Revolta
“Throw it on the pile over there with all the other ones”
Another Scott
Cheers,
Scott.
Steve in the ATL
@Martin:
Why do you hate the 99%? Elitist bastard.
debbie
@Another Scott:
I’m surprised he came forward. Hope he’s ready for all the death threats, etc.
Another Scott
@debbie: He’s been getting them for weeks/months – the GQP have already outed him, but most of the MSM refused to play along (for once). He knows what he’s in for, and I’m sure he’s grateful for the support of sane people.
Indeed, he’s a brave man.
Cheers,
Scott.
Baud
@Another Scott:
Was the earlier outing of this guy correct?
ETA: Never mind.
debbie
@Another Scott:
Thanks. I’d heard they were demanding the name, but not that they’d actually gotten it. I hope that’s looked into.
Geminid
@Martin: Afghanistan has a population of over 38 million people.
Roger Moore
@debbie:
Once your face is on TV, it’s very hard to protect your identity. A lot of the people being prosecuted for activities on 1/6 were identified by amateur sleuths, not by facial recognition software or whatever other fancy tools one would hope the police would have at their disposal. The flip side is that the bad guys can also use a few quick images to identify people they want to harass.
debbie
@Roger Moore:
Thanks, but still sucks.
I just rewatched the video of the shooting. A guy in a suit was the first to tend to Babbit, which I hadn’t noticed before. Was he the only well-dressed insurrectionist?
Geminid
@West of the Rockies: I think Roger Stone was the link between trump and the militias that spearheaded the insurrection, just like he was the link between trump and Russia that Mueller’s team could not break.
Stone is a kind of a freak, and might rather die in prison than die pennyless. As canny and careful as Stone was, he still may die pennyless and in prison. At least I hope so
MagdaInBlack
@debbie: I asked about him when I first saw that video. I never got an answer.
Geminid
@debbie: The guy tending to Babbit could have been a plainclothes cop. There was a file of riot police on the stairway next to the door where Babbitt was shot. The man in the suit might have come with them.
It looked like the riot police were about to clear that doorway. The man who shot Babbitt had no way of knowing this, though.
MagdaInBlack
@Geminid: He seemed to be some kind of law enforcement. He cleared out when the riot police came up the stairs, as I recall. I haven’t re-watched.
bbleh
@Bill Arnold: I would agree that Trump is particularly miserable now, but I would suggest that he’s always been miserable, for his entire life, and that this misery — in particular, a howling, insatiable sense of personal inadequacy — is at the root of his serious and dangerous mental pathologies.
I mean, c’mon, even when the guy smiles, it’s more like a grimace, and when he attempts a laugh, it’s at best a forced chuckle, and it’s mostly when he’s putting someone else down or mocking their misfortune.
As many people have observed, he shows all the signs of “malignant” narcissism, and a direct challenge to narcissistic delusions — such as he suffered when he lost — forces a defensive retreat deeper into the delusions, and if that ultimately is insufficient, leads to a psychotic break. Everything to date looks like the former, and it remains to be seen whether it will come to the latter.
Either way, though, I think one can be sure that life in his head is pretty much hell.
debbie
@Geminid:
Right. The stacked-up furniture was in the way of him seeing anything.
That guy didn’t look plainclothes to me. More like a building admin or something similar.
david
Over 100,000 people evacuated from Afghanistan in 11 days, but TCG can’t (or won’t) get federal rental assistance out to people (89% not distributed).
You can tell when they don’t want to do something, can’t you? Like M4A? Or $15/hr? Or fix USPS?
WaterGirl
@david: I believe the total amount is for a 3-year period.
And I believe some of the states – guess which ones – are not distributing the funds.
So I suspect your animus over this may be misplaced, unintentionally or otherwise.
Steeplejack
@david:
What is TCG?
the pollyanna from hell
@Steeplejack: the current guy? tcg
Steeplejack
@the pollyanna from hell:
Thanks. ?
Kattails
@david: seriously? Biden walked in with zero courteous transfer of administration, a civil service that had been gutted with no appointments being made, a worldwide pandemic with an absolute shit response from TFG, 600,000 Americans dead, a shit deal with the Taliban that I just saw compared as being as bad as Neville Chamberlain’s, and a political opposition that has gone completely, barking at the moon insane. With due respect to our blog lord I will just say that you might want to gain a better sense of perspective on what is actually possible. I resent the implication that TCG does not wish to deal effectively with the issues you mentioned.
Ben Cisco (onboard the Defiant)
@the pollyanna from hell: Wow. That’s WEAK.
Steeplejack
@Kattails:
Amen!
WaterGirl
@Steeplejack: If TCG actually does stand for the current guy, methinks someone is not so fond of President Biden.
Steve in the ATL
Don’t feed the troll!
Barry
@Mallard Filmore:
“That is good. Afghanistan will have a water crisis in a few years. Iran on the west is already heading into some botched water problems that broke Syria apart. They can’t migrate east into China.”
Not to mention that Iran is Shiite, and most of Afghanistan is Sunni.
Geminid
@Barry: The Hazara people in North-central Afghanistan are the largest Shi’ite community in Afghanistan, numbering 4 million+ out of the total 38 million population. In recent years the Hazara community of Kabul were particular targets of IS-K bombings.
In the late 1990s the Hazara were treated cruelly by the Taliban. The Taliban’s destruction of the ancient statues at Bamiyan was notorious at the time, but the Taliban did far worse to the Hazara living in the surrounding province. At this point the U.S. does not have a lot of influence over the Taliban, but other countries in the region may be able to mitigate the Taliban’s treatment of the Hazara and other minorities. The Shi’ite Iranians may have influence. They certainly can make trouble for the Taliban in Afghanistan’s western provinces if they want to.
Russsia, no friend of individual human rights, has publically conditioned recognition of the Taliban upon the creation of an ethnically and regionally representative government. The Pashtun who are the base of the Taliban comprise 40% of the total population, and it could be that Russia wants a broad based government for the sake long term stability. While Russia may want an unstable West, their own neighborhood may be a different matter to them.
It’s early yet to tell how the Taliban will govern now that they are in power again. Their treatment of the Hazara will be a good indicator.
MontyTheClipArtMongoose
@Geminid: i want to know when the xillenial mark foley, matt gaetz, & his office beard marjorie taylor-greene are going to visit political prisoners james alex fields, jr, & cesar sayoc, jr
Salt Creek
@Kattails:
Preach it ! Man, that was righteous, good job!
We have to start calling out people for using right-wing talking points. I swear, if Joe Biden walked on water they would insist on impeachment because he doesn’t know how to swim.