Washington Former US President Donald Trump has suffered a defeat in court in connection with the storming of the Capitol. Civil lawsuits against Trump could go ahead, a federal judge ruled.
Trump’s Jan. 6 speech could be viewed as a “call for collective action,” the decision said. However, the judge dismissed similar allegations against Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr. and attorney Rudy Giuliani.
It was “plausible” that Trump incited his supporters at the time to stop the official confirmation of his election defeat in the US Congress. Trump’s statements to his supporters are “the essence of a civil conspiracy,” Judge Amit Mehta wrote, rejecting Trump’s motions to dismiss the lawsuits. It can be assumed that the ex-president knew that militias were prepared to use force to defend him.
Trump supporters violently stormed the Capitol on January 6 while Congress was meeting there to certify the outcome of the presidential election. Trump had recently incited his supporters at a rally that his election victory had been stolen. Five people were killed, including a police officer. Giuliani also spoke at the rally.
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Trump had to face impeachment. The Senate majority needed to convict the Republican did not materialize because most of his party friends in the House of Representatives supported Trump.
The top Republican Mitch McConnell, who himself found the ex-president innocent in the proceedings, indirectly called for legal action to be taken against his party colleague. State legislators and Capitol Police officials then filed the civil suit.
More: Judge: Trump and his children must testify under oath