Caleb Andonian, working with D.C.-based firms KaiserDillon and Coburn & Greenbaum, filed a lawsuit today on behalf of Representative Eric Swalwell (D-CA) against Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Rudy Giuliani, and Congressman Mo Brooks for their role in inciting the deadly attack on the Capitol in January.  

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Rep. Swalwell is a prominent Democratic leader in the House, most recently serving as one of the House impeachment managers appointed by Speaker Nancy Pelosi to prosecute Trump's historic second impeachment trial.

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The lawsuit is brought under the laws of the United States and the District of Columbia, including a Reconstruction-era civil rights statute once used to prosecute the Ku Klux Klan and D.C.'s bias-related crimes statute, which provides a private cause of action for victims of bias-motivated crimes.  In this case, Rep. Swalwell and other officials specifically were targeted because of political affiliation and their opposition to Trump's efforts to decertify the 2020 presidential election.  The suit also alleges violations of D.C.'s Anti-Terrorism Act.

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Rep. Swalwell joins fellow House member Bennie Thompson (D-MS), who filed a similar lawsuit last month, as the first individuals to seek accountability in a court of law against Trump and others responsible for the events at the Capitol on January 6.  After Trump's acquittal in the second impeachment trial, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Trump "is still liable for everything he did while he was in office, as an ordinary citizen," noting that, "We have a criminal justice system in this country.  We have civil litigation.  And former presidents are not immune from being accountable by either one."   

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The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia and seeks monetary damages as well as declaratory and injunctive relief against Trump and the other defendants.  The case is Swalwell v. Trump, et al.  

 

Read the filed Complaint here.