House Democrat Sues Trump, Giuliani And 2 Far-Right Groups Over Capitol Riot

Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., pictured during a hearing in July 2020, is suing former President Donald Trump over the Capitol riot after Trump was acquitted by the Senate over an incitement charge.

Anna Moneymaker/Pool / Getty Images

Updated at 2 p.m. ET

Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson is suing former President Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani and two far-right groups — the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers — for allegedly conspiring to incite the deadly violence on Jan. 6 at the U.S. Capitol.

The lawsuit, filed on Thompson’s behalf by the NAACP and the civil rights law firm Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, accuses Trump and the other defendants of violating the 1871 Ku Klux Klan Act by trying to interfere in Congress’ certification of the Electoral College count. The legislation was part of a series of Enforcement Acts at the time intended to protect the enfranchisement of Black citizens from violence and intimidation.