More police officers sue Trump over January 6
Three more law enforcement officers are suing former President Trump in two separate lawsuits over his words and actions leading up to the January 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol.
Two Metropolitan Police officers and one Capitol Police officer have filed separate lawsuits, alleging wrongful conduct in inciting a riot as his followers tried to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Both lawsuits were filed in D.C. federal court Tuesday, two days before the one-year anniversary of the Capitol assault.
"Trump's words and conduct leading up to and on January 6, 2021, and his ratification through silence when words and action were necessary, and his further ratification by direct praise of the rioters, as set forth herein, demonstrated a willful and wanton disregard for and a reckless indifference to Bobby Tabron and DeDivine K. Carter's safety and that of their fellow officers," reads the complaint from Metropolitan Police officers Bobby Tabron and DeDevine Carter.
The complaint goes into detail about what the officers faced that day. Tabron, it says, "found himself in hand-to-hand combat" with rioters, and "was forcefully pushed back and fell backwards as thousands of insurrectionists surged forward."
"When Officer Tabron finally did get home around midnight, he removed his chemical-soaked clothes, showered, and tried to sleep. But his mind raced, and his skin still reeked of chemicals the insurrectionists had sprayed on him throughout the day," the lawsuit says.
In his lawsuit, Marcus Moore of the U.S. Capitol Police accused the former president of inflicting "physical and emotional injuries." Moore feared he might not make it home alive.
"The weight on Officer Moore has been heavy and inescapable. He has had sleep disturbance and has difficulty discussing the traumatic events, despite having extensive therapy," the suit says. "He suffered from depression that he could not address because he was too consumed with a sense of obligation to continue with his professional duties. Because the attack happened in the place to which he reports daily, he is unable to avoid most of the triggers of his emotional reactions."
These are not the first lawsuits filed by police officers on scene that day against Trump. Two Capitol Police officers sued him in March. And seven Capitol Police officers sued him and others in August. There are also other lawsuits against Trump and extremist groups for damages from that day.
Attorney General Merrick Garland will speak Wednesday to update the nation on efforts to prosecute and convict January 6 rioters, and President Biden will address the nation Thursday. Trump plans to have his own press conference Thursday to reiterate his election grievances.
Kathryn Watson contributed to this report.