#sidney hemby

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Donald Trump Is Not Immune From A Lawsuit About The Jan. 6 Riot

Former president Donald Trump can be sued by members of Congress and Capitol police for injuries they sustained during the Jan. 6 insurrection, the Department of Justice said Thursday.

Paige Skinner at BuzzFeed News:

The Department of Justice said on Thursday that former president Donald Trump can be sued by police over the violent Jan. 6 insurrection at the US Capitol.  

DOJ officials issued their statement amid an ongoing lawsuit filed by two Capitol police officers and 11 members of Congress who claim that Trump is liable for physical and mental injuries they sustained during the riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Trump had asserted that his role as president granted him immunity from the lawsuit on the grounds that he was performing official duties. After the lawsuit was filed in February 2022, a federal district court ruled last year the lawsuit could continue after Trump claimed he was immune from any civil lawsuit.

Trump’s claim prompted the DOJ to issue its filing on Thursday that was submitted to the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia circuit and published by the Washington Post.

"The United States respectfully submits that the Court could resolve this appeal by rejecting the former President’s categorical position and holding that a President’s speech on a matter of public concern is not protected by absolute immunity if it constitutes incitement to imminent private violence—as the parties have effectively assumed was true here for purposes of this appeal," the DOJ wrote.

The initial lawsuit was filed by officers James Blassingame and Sidney Hemby in February 2022 and was later joined by members of Congress. The suit alleges that Trump’s Jan. 6 rally speech “incited his supporters to commit imminent acts of violence and lawlessness at the Capitol.” It goes on to say that the police officers and members of Congress were physically or emotionally injured by the acts of the rioters.

The DOJ ruled that insurrection-inciter Donald Trump can be sued by police for his role in sparking the far-right Capitol Insurrection on January 6th, 2021. 

[sarcasticcynic]

Two Capitol Police officers sue Trump for physical and emotional injuries suffered in Jan. 6 riot

The two Capitol Police officers alleged that former president Donald Trump is responsible for inciting a mob of his supporters that breached the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

“In a federal suit filed Tuesday in D.C., Officers James Blassingame and Sidney Hemby allege that for months, Trump rallied the insurrectionists with baseless election fraud claims that eventually culminated in the breach of the Capitol that left five dead, including a Capitol Police officer. About 140 D.C. and Capitol Police officers were injured, according to the police union, and two officers who had been on duty at the Capitol that day later died by suicide. ... Blassingame, a 17-year veteran, and Hemby, who has been on the force 11 years, allege that Trump was directly responsible for inciting a mob of supporters gathered at his ‘Stop the Steal’ rally outside the White House. Encouraged by Trump’s orders to march to the Capitol, the lawsuit says, the mob attacked officers and destroyed federal property ... ‘The insurrectionist mob, which Trump had inflamed, encouraged, incited, directed, and aided and abetted, forced its way over and past the plaintiffs and their fellow officers, pursuing and attacking them inside and outside the United States Capitol, and causing the injuries,’ the suit states.”

Where’s the “Blue Lives Matter!” crowd now? Shouldn’t they be supporting this lawsuit, championing these police officers, and criticizing those who perpetrated these violent attacks and those who encouraged them?

Oh, right. When police officers are trying to stop you from breaking the law, their lives don’t matter at all. “Blue Lives Matter” only to the extent that what you really mean is “Black Lives Don’t Matter.”

Bonus racism:

“Blassingame, who had been ordered to move from his original post and was already inside the Capitol, was corralled on the first floor by ‘enraged’ and ‘inflamed’ insurrectionists ... The mob threw items at Blassingame and the other officers and struck them with their fists and weapons, including flagpoles and stanchions. ‘The threats and attacks on Officer Blassingame seemed endless,’ the suit states. Then, a surge of insurrectionists pushed forward and slammed Blassingame against a stone column, he said. He struck his spine and the back of his head and was unable to move. Blassingame, who is Black, said he lost count of how many times the crowd yelled the n-word in his face.”

[gwydionmisha]

2 Capitol Police officers sue Trump for sparking Jan. 6 mob attack

Officers James Blassingame and Sidney Hemby described a severe physical and emotional toll from the riot that continues to haunt them.