03/03/2023

DOJ Determines Trump Can be Sued by Police over Jan. 6 Insurrection

They said Trump does not have absolute immunity from civil lawsuits

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said Thursday that police officers can sue former President Donald Trump over the violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Attorneys for the Justice Department's Civil Division said in a court filing in the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia that Trump does not have absolute immunity from multiple civil lawsuits, filed by police officers and members of Congress, that seek to hold him liable for damages stemming from the riot.

"Speaking to the public on matters of public concern is a traditional function of the presidency, and the outer perimeter of the president's office includes a vast realm of such speech," the brief said. "But that traditional function is one of public communication. It does not include incitement of imminent private violence of the sort the district court found that plaintiffs' complaints have plausibly alleged here."

Please select this link to read the complete article from NBC News.