Trump sued by another Capitol Police officer

Another Capitol Police officer has filed a lawsuit against former President Trump, alleging that he “directed” and “abetted” the assault of police officers on Jan. 6, just two days before the one-year anniversary of the attack.

Capitol Police Officer Marcus J. Moore, a 10-year veteran of the force, filed his lawsuit against Trump in the U.S. District Court for D.C. under the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871. The Klan Act forbids the use of intimidation to prevent federal officers from carrying out their official duties.

The suit was filed on behalf of Moore by D.C.-based law firm Patrick Malone & Associates and the Protect Democracy nonprofit.

In the suit, Moore alleges that rioters who broke into the Capitol were “spurred on by Trump’s conduct over many months” during which he claimed without evidence that the 2020 presidential election was plagued by voter fraud.

“The insurrectionist mob, which Trump had inflamed, encouraged, incited, directed, and aided and abetted, forced its way over and past Plaintiff and his fellow officers, pursuing and attacking them inside and outside the United States Capitol, and causing the injuries complained of herein,” the suit stated.

His suit listed various moments after the Nov. 3, 2020, election and leading up to Jan. 6, when he alleges Trump appeared to endorse violence or failed to outright condemn violent actions in relation to the election. The list included the now infamous moment when Trump told the far-right Proud Boys group during a nationally television presidential debate to “stand back and stand by.”

Moore was not originally supposed to report to work on Jan. 6, according to the lawsuit, but was told the come in one day before. After reporting to the Capitol at 5:30 a.m., Moore did not leave until 17 hours later in the day.

Going over the events of Jan. 6, Moore noted in the suit that it seemed like the rioters already knew which windows of the Capitol were not reinforced, walking past windows that had been reinforced with metal and bomb-resistant glass a few years ago.

After the Capitol was breached, Moore said he stood outside the House chambers as the mob gathered outside. After the crowd realized how close they were to the House chambers, they rushed the officers and crushed Moore against a wall, he said.

The suit states that Moore heard one rioter say, “Take their guns and kill them.”

Moore is seeking punitive damages in excess of $75,000 against Trump, as well as additional costs.

“Our client suffered physical and psychological wounds as the result of insurrectionists incited by the former president to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power,” attorney Patrick Malone said in a statement.

This is not the first lawsuit that has been filed against Trump by police officers who protected the Capitol on Jan. 6. In August, seven Capitol Police officers filed a lawsuit against Trump and various right-wing figures, alleging that they worked with groups like the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers to engage in an act of domestic terrorism.

That suit also accuses Trump of violating the Klan Act.