Another Capitol Police officer has filed a lawsuit against former President Trump, saying that he 'directed' and 'aided' the assault on police officers on Jan. 6, just two days before the one-year anniversary of the incident.
Moore claims that the rioters who stormed the Capitol were "spurred on" by Trump's behaviour over a period of months, during which he asserted without evidence that the 2020 presidential election will be marred by voting 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 lawsuit cites many instances after the Nov. 3, 2020, election and up until Jan. 6, when he claims Trump appeared to condone or fail to openly denounce violent acts in relation to the election. The list includes the now-famous moment when Trump instructed the far-right Proud Boys organization to "stand back and stand by" during a nationally televised presidential debate.According to the lawsuit, Moore was not meant to arrive to work on Jan. 6, but was ordered to come in one day early. Moore did not leave the Capitol until 17 hours later, after reporting at 5:30 a.m.Moore said in the complaint that it appeared that the rioters already knew which Capitol windows were not reinforced, since they walked passed windows that had been strengthened with metal and bomb-resistant glass just a few years before.
Moore claimed he stood outside the House rooms as the crowd gathered outside after the Capitol was overrun. The cops shoved Moore into a wall once the crowd realized how near they were to the House chambers, he claimed.
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 isn't the first time that police officers who guarded the Capitol on Jan. 6 have filed a lawsuit against Trump. Seven Capitol Police officers sued Trump and other right-wing personalities in August, saying that they collaborated with groups like the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers to commit domestic terrorism.Trump is also accused with breaking the Ku Klux Klan Act, according to the lawsuit.
