WASHINGTON (AP) — A Democratic congressman has sued Donald Trump, alleging the former president incited the deadly insurrection at the Capitol.
The Washington federal court lawsuit is part of an expected wave of litigation over the riot and is believed to be the first filed by a member of Congress.
The lawsuit alleges Trump and his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, conspired with members of far-right extremist groups to try to prevent the Senate from certifying the presidential election results.
The case also names the Proud Boys and the Oath Keeps as defendants. Both have members being charged by the Justice Department for their participation in the riot.
The suit was filed by the NAACP on behalf of Mississippi congressman Bennie Thompson under a Reconstruction-era law known as the Ku Klux Klan Act and comes days after Trump was acquitted in a Senate impeachment trial.
The New York Times reports that more House members are expected to join as plaintiffs in the coming weeks, including Reps. Hank Johnson and Bonnie Watson Coleman.
In an interview with The Times, Thompson said Monday that he wouldn’t have filed the suit if the Senate had voted to convict Trump in the impeachment trial.
The suit seeks unspecified punitive and compensatory damages.
Trump's lawyers have denied that he incited the riot.
