Trump Fails to Fire Capitol Police Officers on Jan. 6

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Former President Donald Trump delivered a speech at the Ellipse on January 6, shortly before his group of supporters rioted inside the US Capitol. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

Former President Donald Trump has failed to dismiss another and broader complaint in the growing federal lawsuits seeking to hold him accountable for the events of Jan. 6, 2021.

“What is unique about this case is the number and type of named defendants,” US District Judge Amit Mehta said in Thursday’s ruling. “Previous actions focused primarily on former President Donald J. Trump and attempted to hold him accountable for the events of January 6th. Those actions include several individual defendants and several groups.”

The most recent lawsuit leading to discovery, filed by seven US Capitol Police Officers, also names dozens of his allies and extremist groups as co-defendants: 20 people and six entities.

“These Are Not the First Activities Protected by the Amendment”

Less than a year ago, Judge Mehta rejected Trump’s contention that the First Amendment fully shielded him from liability from the violence and ransacking of his supporters at the US Capitol on January 6. That decision promoted of a set of three federal cases in Mehta’s courtroom. Those include allegations that Trump violated the Ku Klux Klan Act, a Reconstruction-era law designed to prevent white supremacist groups from interfering with the rights of formerly enslaved people.

The law has become more widely used in recent decades to punish conspiracies to interfere with civil rights.

In November, a separate federal judge upheld similar claims by civil rights groups, again rejecting Trump’s claim of blanket immunity.

For Judge Mehta, the case filed by the septet of law enforcement officers, led by 32-year US Capitol Police veteran Conrad Smith, stands alone in its massive scale and scope. The defendants include Trump, right-wing activist Ali Alexander, WalkAway founder Brandon J. Straka, Republican operative Roger J. Stone, Jr., and several members of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys. Several Oath Keepers were convicted of seditious conspiracy, including the group’s leader Stewart Rhodes. Another seditious conspiracy trial against members of the Proud Boys remains ongoing.

Roger Stone holds his arms in a “V” and pops up Richard Nixon-style victory hand signs in this photo with members of the Oath Keepers. (Photo via DOJ)

The Proud Boy defendants are ringleaders Enrique “Henry” Tarrio, Ethan Nordean, Joseph R. Biggs, Zachary Rehl, Charles Donohoe and Dominic Pezzola. The Oath Keepers named in the lawsuit are founder Stewart Rhodes, Thomas E. Caldwell, Jessica Watkins and Kelly Meggs.

In addition, the lawsuit also accused members of the so-called Three Percenters, an extremist group that took its name from the false belief that it was part of the colonists who overthrew the British during the American Revolution. Those defendants are Alan Hostetter, Russell Taylor, Erik Scott Warner, Felipe Antonio Martinez, Derek Kinnison, and Ronald Mele. Oath Keepers and Proud Boys’ corporate entities were also named, along with Make America Great Again PAC and Stop the Steal LLC.

In a mixed ruling, Mehta found that some of them enjoyed First Amendment protection for their alleged conduct on January 6, while others did not.

“Some Defendants contend that all claims against them should be dismissed because they rest solely on activities protected by the First Amendment,” the ruling states. “The court agrees with some Defendants but not others.”

As for the Proud Boys outright organizing a group of fighters to attack the US Capitol, the judge said: “These are not activities protected by the First Amendment.”

“The Opposite of ‘Coming'”

Two far-right operatives, however, succeeded in their First Amendment arguments.

“The court reached a different conclusion about Stone and Alexander,” Mehta continued, adding that his view of them was similar to how he viewed Rudy Giuliani and Donald Trump Jr., who were dismissed as defendants. from a similar case.

“Furthermore, neither allegedly participated in the attack on the Capitol on January 6th nor did anything in support of the alleged conspiracy other than engaging in protected expression,” Judge Mehta wrote.

Stone is a major figure though mostly in the background in the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys sagas. The January 6th Committee noted that both extremist groups have encrypted chat rooms named “FOS,” short for “Friends of Stone.” Stone appeared in photos with members of the Oath Keepers, who were assigned to him as a security detail, but “these allegations do not allege any illegal activity by Stone with regard to these groups.”

“Alexander is also said to have been in contact with the Proud Boys, but not for any unlawful purpose,” Mehta added.

While the defendants derided the claims of a conspiracy with Trump as “far-fetched,” Mehta said he previously found allegations that the former president conspired with the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers to be at least “realistic .” He said the same thing happened to the Three Percent. However, he struck Straka from the conspiracy count.

The suit also sought injunctive relief to prevent a repeat attempt to block the certification of an election.

For Mehta, however, a key element of that request was missing: an “imminent” injury.

“The prospect of injury more than two years into the future is the opposite of ‘imminent,'” he wrote.

Attorneys for the law enforcement officers who filed the lawsuit did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump, through his reelection lawyer Jesse Binnall, filed an appeal with the DC Circuit.

Read the opinion below:

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