WASHINGTON — Two US Capitol Police officers are suing former President Donald Trump in connection with the “physical and emotional” injuries they suffered during the violent riots on Jan. 6, according to multiplemedia reports.
The lawsuit alleges Trump “inflamed, encouraged, incited, directed, and aided and abetted” for months before the riots, and the day of, speaking to the crowd that later stormed the Capitol Building, according to the Washington Post.
On Jan. 6, Trump spoke to a rally of supporters outside the White House, before many in that crowd walked down the Capitol and used violence and force to get inside while Congress was certifying the electoral college votes that confirmed Joe Biden as the next president.
Five people died as a result of the riots, including Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, and more than a hundred people and officers were injured. Following the riots, two officers who had been on duty that day died by suicide.
The lawsuit from the two officers is the first from law enforcement in connection with the riots.
The officers, James Blassingame and Sidney Hemby, have been on the force for a combined 28 years, according to CNN.
Both say they were injured in the riots and are seeking at least $75,000 each in compensatory damages, and undisclosed amounts in punitive damages.
In the suit, Hemby says he was “crushed against the doors” of the Capitol and “sprayed with chemicals.”
Blassingame says he “is haunted by the memory of being attacked,” and “experiences guilt” of not being able to help colleagues during the riot. He also says he “lost count of the many times” he was called a racial slur throughout the assault. Blassingame is Black.
The civil lawsuit was filed in federal court in Washington, D.C.
