Trump can be sued for Jan. 6 riot harm, Justice Dept. says

Source: Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump can be sued by injured Capitol Police officers and Democratic lawmakers over the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, the Justice Department said Thursday in a federal court case testing Trump's legal vulnerability for his speech before the riot.

In court papers, the Justice Department told a federal appeals court in Washington that it should allow the lawsuits to move forward, rejecting Trump's argument that he is immune from the claims.

The department said it takes no position on the lawsuits' claims that the former president's words incited the attack on the Capitol. Nevertheless, Justice lawyers told the court that a president would not be protected by "absolute immunity" if his words were found to have been an "incitement of imminent private violence."

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/trump-jan-6-capitol-police-congress-immunity-d18d0c6369837c725578cf6e13c18883