“The defendants have gathered, ignited and encouraged the surging crowd,” said one of the two deputies who filed his complaint in a Washington court.
INTERNATIONAL – An elected Democrat of the United States Congress filed a complaint this Friday, March 5 against Donald Trump , the second against the former president for having “incited an attack on the Capitol “, committed by his supporters on January 6.
“Unable to accept defeat, Donald Trump waged an open war against the peaceful transfer of power” to Joe Biden, wrote Eric Swalwell, elected from California to the House of Representatives.
“He has lied to his supporters over and over again by claiming that the election was stolen from them,” he added, “and finally called on his supporters to descend on Washington ” for a demonstration on January 6.
“Ignited and encouraged the surly crowd”
In a long speech in front of the White House, Donald Trump had that day launched to the thousands of demonstrators: “Fight like devils!”
Eric Swalwell also targets in his complaint, filed in a Washington court, Donald Trump Jr, son of the billionaire, his lawyer Rudolph Giuliani, and a Republican elected member of the House, Mo Brooks. All had spoken at the same meeting.
“The defendants rallied, ignited and cheered the surly crowd and, as such, bear full responsibility for the damage and destruction that followed.” A spokesperson for Donald Trump, Jason Miller, reacted in a statement to the Washington Post, calling Eric Swalwell “less than nothing without credibility”.
Another elected House Democrat, Bennie Thompson, had filed a complaint in mid-February.
Over 300 arrests
Five people, including a Capitol Hill police officer, died in the assault on the seat of Congress, when parliamentarians certified the Democrat’s victory over Donald Trump in the November presidential election.
Accused of “inciting insurgency” for calling on his supporters to march on Congress, Donald Trump was acquitted in the Senate on February 13. He never accepted the result of the presidential election, believing without foundation that his defeat was due to massive fraud.
Although he acquitted the ex-president in the Senate because he felt that the upper house did not have the competence to judge him, the powerful leader of the Republicans Mitch McConnell himself, in the process, underlined that the way legal proceedings remained open.
More than 300 people have so far been arrested in connection with their participation in the assault on Capitol Hill. Among the latest to date is Guillermo Klein, a former member of the State Department, appointed by Donald Trump to a junior post.
Trump administration member arrested
Klein, who resigned from his post on Jan.19, the day before Joe Biden was inaugurated, was arrested by the FBI on Thursday after reviewing a video of the Jan.6 attack.
In a complaint obtained by the New York Times , an FBI agent claims the video shows Guillermo Klein attacking police officers with a riot shield. Guillermo Klein had worked as a special assistant at the State Department since 2017 and had a secret defense clearance, according to the New York Times.
He is considered the first member of the Trump administration directly indicted for the attack on Capitol Hill.