Federal court of appeals Washington D.C has ruled that former President Donald Trump can be sued for his role in the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Where Trump followers tried to stop the official announcement that he had lost the election to Joe Biden.
The court rejected Trump’s claim that he is immune from lawsuits as a former president.
The court said that Trump must face trial to determine whether his actions on January 6th were taken in his official capacity as president or in his unofficial capacity as a presidential candidate.
The civil cases against Trump have made people wonder what part he was playing at the rally he held on January 6 where he told his fans to “fight like hell” and encouraged them to march to the Capitol.
Judge Sri Srinivasan on behalf of the court of appeals said that question has not yet been answered yet. But, Trump should be given a chance to show that the things he is accused of doing before and on January 6 were done in his official role as president, not in his private role as a presidential candidate.
For now, the panel will let three legal claims against Trump go forward in Federal District Court in Washington.
Rep. Eric Swalwell, a Democrat from California, files a first-law case saying that Trump directly caused the violence at the Capitol “and then watched approvingly as the building was overrun.”
Two more cases are filed. One is by House Democrat James Blassingame, and the other is by police officer Sidney Hemby. Both of them were hurt in the riot.
In all of the Lawsuits, the Plaintiff say they were hurt when rioters attacked the Capitol while Congress was meeting to confirm Biden’s election victory.
