Blassingame v. Trump

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At a Glance

Campaign Legal Center Action filed an amicus brief in support of the Capitol Police officers and members of Congress who are suing Donald Trump and his allies for the injuries they caused when the counting of votes was disrupted on Jan. 6, 2021.

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About this Case

On Jan. 6, 2021, a violent pro-Trump mob stormed the United States Capitol to prevent federal officials from discharging their duties to count the Electoral College ballots and ratify Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as the established winners of the 2020 presidential election. The mob—provoked by Trump and his allies’ relentless disinformation campaign about the 2020 election and rallying calls to “stop the steal” and “fight like hell”—violently overran law enforcement officers to impede the electoral process. The chaos left five people dead and countless injured, and halted the formalization of the 2020 election results for hours.

Members of Congress and injured Capitol Police officers sued Donald Trump and his allies under a Reconstruction-era statute, the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, alleging that Trump and his allies formed a civil conspiracy with the people who came to the Capitol to disrupt the counting of electoral votes in Congress.

Our Brief

CLC Action filed an amicus brief supporting the members of Congress and Capitol Police officers’ cases. The brief explains why the key provisions of the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 apply to the disruption of the electoral vote counting in Congress and prohibit Trump and his allies’ core involvement, based on the statute’s text, the 1871 Congress’ design and intent, and historical source material.

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