Donald Trump May Have to Pay His Jan. 6 Critics

Former President Donald Trump may soon have to pay his most vocal January 6 critics—Capitol Police officers and Democratic lawmakers.

A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., ruled against Trump on Friday, agreeing with a lower court that the former president is not immune from a civil lawsuit brought by Capitol Police officers who accuse Trump of being responsible for the physical and emotional injuries they suffered from the Capitol riot.

Citing an earlier decision in a similar case brought by officer James Blassingame, the three-judge panel rejected Trump’s immunity argument in Smith v. Trump, a case brought by eight Capitol police officers who say they “were violently assaulted, spat on, tear-gassed, bear-sprayed, subjected to racial slurs and epithets, and put in fear for their lives” on January 6, 2021, because of Trump’s actions.

Quoting the ruling in Blassingame v. Trump, the federal appeals court agreed that “Whether [President Trump’s] actions involved speech on matters of public concern bears no inherent connection to the essential distinction between official and unofficial acts.”

Newsweek reached out to Trump’s attorney, Jesse Binnall, via email for comment.

Similar decisions are expected to follow in other January 6-related lawsuits that have been filed against Trump. Smith and Blassingame are among five lawsuits that have been filed. Trump has also been sued over his actions leading up to the Capitol attack by police officer Sidney Hemby, Democratic Representative Eric Swalwell and a group of 10 House Democrats that include Representatives Jerry Nadler and Maxine Waters.

The cases against Trump have been consolidated.

Earlier this month, judges on the same appeals court in D.C. rejected Trump’s immunity claim in Blassingame, finding that his actions leading up to and on January 6 were not part of his official presidential duties.

In Blassingame, Chief Justice Sri Srinivasan, an Obama appointee, said that when a president “acts in an unofficial, private capacity, he is subject to civil suits like any private citizen.”

“When a first-term President opts to seek a second term, his campaign to win re-election is not an official presidential act,” he wrote. Blassingame was decided by Srinivasan and Judges Gregory Katsas and Judith Rogers. Trump appointed Katsas, and Bill Clinton appointed Rogers.

On Friday, Srinivasan, joined by Rogers and Judge Bradley Garcia, said of Smith, “This case is indistinguishable from Blassingame in all relevant respects.” Garcia is a Biden appointee.

The eight Capitol police officers in Smith v. Trump are represented by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, who argue that Trump’s actions violated the federal Ku Klux Klan Act, the D.C. Bias-Related Crimes Act, and other laws.

Byron Evans, who is among the officers in the suit, has been outspoken about his experiences on the Capitol that day. Evans, who had been a Capitol Police officer for 15 years when the riot took place, aided the evacuation of 100 senators and former Vice President Mike Pence that day.

Recalling how he watched the riot unfold on television with the senators and other Capitol Police officers, Evans told CNN in a 2021 interview, “I just remember the anger I felt when I saw those images, busting windows, climbing the walls and stuff like that. It was an audible gasp in the room, seeing those images.”

“That’s the feeling that I’ll never shake,” he said.

Each of the officers is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, which are to be determined by a jury, in addition to attorneys’ fees and costs, from Trump and the other defendants for the “physical and emotional injuries incurred.”

Trump’s 2020 campaign and his Make America Great Again PAC are also being sued alongside the former president himself, Roger Stone, Stone’s “Stop the Steal” movement, the Proud Boys and other individuals from those groups.

“As the lawsuit alleges, former President Trump and others deliberately spread election fraud claims and incited violence against members of Congress and the law enforcement officers whose job was to protect them,” the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law said in a press release.

“These officers put their lives on the line to protect the votes and voices of everyone in this country, including Black voters and other voters of color,” the group said.