Presidential Election
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Case 1:21-cv-00858 Document 1 Filed 03/30/21 Page 1 of 40 INTHE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA : JAMESBLASSINGAME : and : SIDNEYHEMBY : Plaintiffs CaseNo DONALDJ. TRUMP : : Defendant COMPLAINT 1 This is a complaintfor damagesbyU.S.CapitolPoliceofficersfor physicaland emotional injuries caused by the defendant Donald Trump's wrongful conduct inciting a riot on January 6 , 2021, by his followers trying to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. I. THE PARTIES 2 Theplaintiffs James Blassingameand Sidney Hembyare UnitedStates CapitolPolice officers. They arebothresidentsand citizensof Maryland. The defendantDonaldJ. Trump was the 45th President of the United States, from January 20, 2017, to January 20, 2021. He is a resident and citizenof Florida. Case 1 :21-cv-00858 Document 1 Filed 03/30/21 Page 2 of 40 II. JURISDICTIONANDVENUE 3 . This Court has jurisdiction under 28 U.S. C. 1332(a)( 1) because the parties are of diverse citizenship. The amount in controversy exceeds $75,000, not counting interest and costs. 4 Venue is proper in this judicialdistrict pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1391 b)(2) because most of the events giving rise to the claims occurred in the DistrictofColumbia. III. FACTUALBACKGROUND Introduction 5 . PFC James Blassingameis a 17-year veteranof the UnitedStates CapitolPolice (USCP) . PFC Sidney Hembyis an 11-year veteranof the USCP. 6 . Both United States Capitol Police Officers reported for duty on January 6 , 2021, without any suspicion that they would soon become the targets of Trump's followers . Those followershadassembledin Washingtonat Trump'scalling for a rally at the WhiteHouse Ellipsethat quickly evolvedinto a violent insurrectionat the Capitol. 7 . The insurrectionists were spurred on by Trump's conduct over many months ingetting his followersto believehis false allegationthat he was about to be forced out ofthe White House because of massive election fraud by his presidential adversary Joe Biden , and that the convening of Congress on January 6 to count the Electoral College results and declare the winner was their last chance to “ stop the steal.” 8 . The insurrectionist mob, which Trump had inflamed, encouraged, incited, directed, and aided and abetted, forced its way over and past the plaintiffsand their fellow officers, pursuing and attacking them inside and outside the United States Capitol, and causing the injuries complainedofherein. 2 Case 1 :21-cv-00858 Document1 Filed 03/30/21 Page 3 of 40 9 . As a result of Trump's speech on January 6th, 2021, his conduct and statements leading up to andonthat date, and his failure on that date to take timely actionto stophis followersfrom continuedviolenceat the Capitol, Trump committedtorts that resultedin injuriesto UnitedStates CapitolPoliceofficersand MetropolitanPoliceDepartment officers, includingthe plaintiffs. These torts include: DirectingAssault andBattery Aiding andAbettingAssault and Battery Directing IntentionalInflictionofEmotionalDistress LiabilityPerSe for ViolationofD.C. Code 22-1322 – Incitementto Riot LiabilityPerSe for Violation ofD.C.Code 22-1321 DisorderlyConduct B. Trump'sCo luct Leading Up To the 2020 Presidential ction 10 During his 2016 campaign, and throughout his presidency, Trump had threatened violencetowards his opponents, encouragedhis followersto commit acts ofviolence, and condonedacts ofviolenceby his followers, includingwhite supremacistsand far right wing hate groups. 11. Trump's stoking ofviolence by his followers accelerated during the 2020 presidential campaign. Duringthe first presidentialdebate, heldon September29, 2020 Trump repeatedly asserted, without evidence, that the election would be fraudulent and rigged: “ There's fraud. They found them [ ballots) in creeks. They found some, just happened to have the name Trump just the other day ina wastepaper basket. This is going to be a fraud like you've never seen ; " “ a rigged election ; “ This is not going to endwell. 12 Asked during that first presidential debate by moderator Chris Wallace to condemn white supremacists and far right-wing hate groups, Trump responded, “ ProudBoys, stand back and stand by.” Minutes later, the Chairmanofthe Proud Boys, Enrique Tarrio, posted a 3 Case 1 :21-cv-00858 Document1 Filed 03/30/21 Page4 of 40 messageon Parler, a socialnetworkingservicepopularamongextremistgroups, saying, “ Standing by sir. ” The ProudBoys would go on to become a core group ofJanuary 6 insurrectionists 13. Wallaceasked ifTrump wouldurge his supportersto “stay calm , ” followingthe election, and “ not to engage in any civil unrest. Trump responded, “ Ifit's a fair election I am 100% onboard. ButifI see tens ofthousandsofballotsbeingmanipulated, I can'tgo along with that.” When Wallace then asked ifthat meant he was going to tell your peopleto take to the streets, ” Trump did not directly respond, but said, “ They [Democrats cheat. They cheat. Hey, they foundballotsin a wastepaperbasket three days ago, and they all had the name military ballots. There were military. They all had the name Trump on them .” Trump never provided any real evidence to support his claims that Democrats were throwing out ballots that had been cast for him. 14. In the days leading up to the election, Trump repeated his assertion that his adversaries were trying to steal the election, which preparedhis followers for more such baseless assertionsonce the electionwas over. Trump Lost the 2020 Presidential Election and Immediately Stepped Up His False Claims of a Stolen Election 15. On the night of the election, at 2:30 a.m.on November4 , in a smallrallyheldat the White House, Trump claimedthat hehad won the election, even though hundredsof thousands ofvotes inkey swing states were still being counted. As more votes were counted, particularly from high-population areas, it became increasingly apparent that Joe Bidenhad won the election. This promptedTrump to begin repeatedly tweeting that the 4 Case 1 :21-cv-00858 Document 1 Filed 03/30/21 Page 5 of 40 electionwas beingstolen: DonaldJ. Trump @realDonaldTrump Some or all of the content shared in this Tweet is disputed and might be misleading about an election or other civic process. Learn more We are up BIG, but they are trying to STEAL the Election . We will never let them do it. Votes cannot be cast after the Polls are closed ! Learnabout US 2020 election securityefforts 12:49AM , 2020 Twitterfor iPhone 16. On November 5 Trump made a statement, “ Ifyou count the legal votes, I easily win. If you count the illegal votes, they can try to steal the election from us.” 17. On Saturday, November7 every majornews organizationin the country calledthe electionfor Joe Bidenafterthe count in Pennsylvaniashowedhe held an insurmountable lead D. Trump Called for a “ Wild ” Protest on January 6 2021, and His Followers Took His Words as a Call to Arms 18. Inthe weeks followingthe election, as several states beganrecounts, Trump continued claimingthat the electionwas beingstolen, despite offeringno evidence that was found meritoriousby any ofthe dozens ofcourts that consideredhis and his allies' post-election lawsuits 19. Trump'sclaims of fraud immediatelyfollowingthe electionled to his followers, often armed, descendingon state capitolsand othergovernmentbuildingsthroughoutthe country. Betweenthe electionon November3 , 2020, and January 6 , 2021, there were 5 Case 1 :21-cv-00858 Document1 Filed 03/30/21 Page 6 of 40 dozens of protests aroundthe country by Trump'sfollowers. Two of these events occurred in the nation's capital, and at both ofthem police officers were injuredtrying to restrainTrump'sfollowers. Trump knew that bothevents hadturned violent. 20 Trump promoted a rally planned for November 14, 2020 , in Washington , D.C.: Donald J. Trump @realDonald Trump Heartwarmingto see all of the tremendous support out there, especially the organic Ralliesthat are springing up all over the Country, including a big one on Saturday in D.C. I may eventry to stop by and say hello. This Election was Rigged, from Dominionall the way up & down! about election fraud is disputed 1:35 PM 13, 2020 for iPhone 42.5K Retweets 7.8K Quote Tweets 192.1K Likes 21. On November 14, 2020, Trump followers gathered at Freedom Plaza in Washington, D.C., a few blocksfrom the White House, inwhatwould be calledthe first “ Million MAGAMarch” (thoughit was estimatedthat the crowdnumberedinthe tens of thousands). These includedmembers of far right-wing hate groups, including the Proud Boys, Three Percenters, Oath Keepers, and followers of the QAnon conspiracy theory. 22 ThroughoutNovember14, 2020, Trump issuednumeroustweetsaboutthe electionbeing stolen, while tweeting his support for the rally. He also pushed the idea that rallies like this one might result inhim “ winning election: 6 Case 1:21-cv -00858 Document 1 Filed 03/30/21 Page 7 of 40 DonaldJ. Trump @realDonaldTrump Peopleare not going to stand for havingthis Election stolen from them by a privately owned Radical Left company, Dominion, and manyother reasons! claim about electionfraud is disputed Dan Scavino @DanScavino 3:07 PM , 2020 Twitter for iPhone 40.7K Retweets 6.5K Quote Tweets 158.5K Likes 7 Case 1:21-cv-00858 Document1 Filed 03/30/21 Page 8 of 40 Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump We will WIN Dan Scavino @DanScavino 11/14/2020 - Washington , D.C. #MarchForTrump #MAGA FAIR ELECTION REAL RESULTS 8:17 PM 14, 2020 5 8 See DonaldJ. Trump's other Tweets 23 Later in the eveningon November14, violence erupted, as four policeofficerswere injured and overtwenty-one arrestswere made, includingdestructionofproperty,