The Daily Fuckup

Two U.S. Capitol Police officers filed a civil lawsuit on March 30, 2021, accusing Donald Trump of helping spark the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and of contributing to the injuries they say they suffered that day. The plaintiffs, James Blassingame and Sidney Hemby, said Trump’s words and conduct helped create the conditions for the mob that overran the building.

The suit adds a personal damages claim to the growing body of Jan. 6 litigation. It does not resolve the question of Trump’s responsibility, but it puts that question before a federal court in a case built around the officers’ account of what happened to them during the breach.

The complaint alleges that Trump’s repeated false claims about the 2020 election, along with his public pressure campaign around the vote count, helped inflame supporters who later turned violent at the Capitol. Any such case would still have to work through the usual legal hurdles, including causation and immunity arguments, before it could reach a final judgment.

Blassingame and Hemby are among the first Capitol Police officers to sue Trump directly over the riot. Their filing turned a national political fight into a civil claim for damages, with the officers asking a court to treat the attack not just as a political event, but as a source of personal injury with alleged legal consequences.