The Daily Fuckup

Ten House Democrats joined Bennie Thompson’s Jan. 6 civil lawsuit in an amended complaint filed April 7, 2021, widening a case already pending in federal court in Washington. The suit names Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani, the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers, and it alleges that their conduct helped set conditions for the effort to disrupt Congress’s certification of the 2020 election. ([clearinghouse.net](https://clearinghouse.net/case/18081/?utm_source=openai))

The original complaint in Thompson v. Trump was filed on Feb. 16, 2021. The April 7 filing did not start the case; it expanded it. According to the docket and case summary, the amended complaint added plaintiffs and additional defendants, including Enrique Tarrio and other Proud Boys members referred to in the filings as the Warboys. ([clearinghouse.net](https://clearinghouse.net/case/18081/?utm_source=openai))

The added lawmakers do not appear to change the core theory of the lawsuit, but they do broaden the roster of plaintiffs and the scope of the case. The complaint still rests on allegations, not findings: it says the defendants’ statements and organizing helped fuel the events of Jan. 6 and that the violence was tied to efforts to stop the certification by force, intimidation or threats. ([clearinghouse.net](https://clearinghouse.net/case/18081/?utm_source=openai))

That matters because an amended civil complaint can sharpen the factual record a court will examine, even before any judge reaches the merits. The defendants remain free to argue that their conduct was protected speech or otherwise lawful. For now, the filing mainly shows that the legal fight over Jan. 6 was still growing on April 7, not settling down. ([clearinghouse.net](https://clearinghouse.net/case/18081/?utm_source=openai))