By Megan Sayles
AFRO Staff Writer
msayles@afro.com
Though the president-elect has escaped criminal prosecution by the Justice Department for his alleged involvement in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, a number of civil cases still remain.
Credit: Unsplash photo by Louis Velazquez
The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is representing eight Capitol Police officers who contend the president-elect and his campaign organization incited the violence they faced that day, which included being assaulted, spat on, tear-gassed, bear-sprayed and called racial slurs. The lawsuit also names far-right groups, like the Proud Boys and Oathkeepers, who planned and participated in the attack.
The eight officers say they feared for their lives on the fateful day and have been traumatized since.
“Our eight clients who were harmed stood up for democracy that day, and they have continued to stand up for democracy for the last four years of this litigation now,” said Edward Caspsar, acting co-chief counsel. “They brought this civil suit because they want to ensure that this kind of political violence never happens again. The best way to do that is to hold accountable those, who in our view, are principally responsible. We have democracy so long as we are willing to stand up for it.”
On Jan. 6, 2021, thousands of people stormed the U.S. Capitol in an effort to stop the certification of President Joe Biden’s and Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2020 victory. Nearly 140 law enforcement officers were injured during the uprising.
Four rioters died during the attack, and a Capitol Police officer died the day after. In the months following the insurrection, four law enforcement officers who defended the Capitol died by suicide.
The lawsuit, filed in December 2021, alleges that the president-elect and his organizations deliberately and persistently made false statements about voter fraud and a stolen election, which spurred the raid. In a speech given by the president-elect in D.C. hours before the ambush, he told his supporters, “if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.”
Caspar said the civil case is an opportunity to hold the president-elect accountable for his hand in the attack, particularly as he has announced plans to pardon all Jan. 6 rioters.
“The law is clear that a president is not immune from having to engage in civil litigation just because he’s the president,” said Caspar. “Our case represents an important opportunity for accountability for the former and now future president, and it’s important that this kind of accountability remains.”
He added that a win in the case could also demonstrate that there are repercussions for any person that participates in this type of political violence.
“What’s most important is for the public to understand that there are consequences for engaging in this kind of lunacy,” said Caspar. “There are consequences for the thousands of people who thought it was OK to use such brutal violence on their neighbors and these law enforcement officers who just happened to be there that day to do their jobs.”
Though not represented in the lawsuit, former Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn has long been vocal about what he encountered on Jan. 6. He said he was fortunate to not experience the physical injuries that many of his colleagues did, but he was subjected to verbal attacks and racial slurs.
“What I witnessed was my co-workers getting the s–t beat out of them,” said Dunn. “I was in an elevated position at the start of the day when the violence started. I didn’t go down into the crowd, but as officers were retreating back, I was providing them with water, towels to wipe their eyes and aid to stop bleeding, so they could get back into the fight.”
Dunn was one of the officers who testified before the U.S. House Select Committee on the Jan. 6 Attack. He, like Caspar, said accountability has been the end goal since day one. But, he has felt failed by the justice system.
“The last fail-safe was the American people on Election Day, and that didn’t happen either. Now, the MAGA Republicans are attempting to rewrite history and what happened that day, which was led by the president-elect,” said Dunn. “It’s imperative that we understand and truthfully remember what happened that day and the four years later as a matter of history. I think it’s definitely important that these lawsuits go forward and succeed too.”
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