Former United States President Donald Trump was acquitted in the Senate for his role in the murderous assault by several of his supporters on the Capitol on January 6, but that does not, however, mark the end of the battle led by the Democrats.
Bennie Thompson, elected from Mississippi to the House of Representatives, announced on Tuesday February 16 that he had filed a civil complaint against the former federal head of state, his lawyer Rudy Giuliani and two far-right groups, the Prouds Boys and the Oath Keepers.
“The defendants acted in concert to instigate and start a riot on Capitol Hill, by encouraging a rally to participate in or threaten a violent movement which put the complainant and other members of Congress in grave danger”, is it written in the complaint of Mr. Thompson, head of the commission on internal security.
The elected is based on a law enacted in 1871 to protect the rights of African Americans after the abolition of slavery (1865), especially against extremist groups like the Ku Klux Klan.
The assault on the Capitol, which left five dead, was born“A common project that the accused have been pursuing since the election” presidential election of November 3, 2020, says the Democrat, in his complaint filed with a federal court in Washington.
The threat of legal action
The former president denied for months the victory of his Democratic rival Joe Biden. Thousands of his supporters gathered in Washington on January 6, as Congress was due to officially certify the poll results. After a long speech from the Republican, some of them rushed to the Capitol, where the parliamentarians were meeting.
Donald Trump was acquitted in the Senate on February 13 after his political trial in this case. Senators were a majority – 57 out of 100 – to vote for the billionaire’s conviction. But it would have taken two-thirds of the upper house – or 67 votes – to reach a guilty verdict, which could have been followed by a sentence of ineligibility.
The billionaire denies any responsibility for these events and his lawyers stressed that he had, on one occasion during this speech, called for a protest “Peacefully”. Although he acquitted him in the Senate because he felt the Upper House lacked the competence to try him, the powerful Republican leader Mitch McConnell himself, in the process, raised the threat of legal action. .
