He lay in a cramped space wearing a gas mask for three hours. The 72-year-old representative lay there listening to the insurrectionists’ shouts as they overran our democracy’s Capitol Building. Then, Representative. Bennie Thompson heard a shot. He did not know whether the shot was at a member of the enraged mob, the Capitol Police, or even one of the legislators.
As it turned out, the shot took down one of the rioters. But not only were the representatives and senators nearly massacred, Trump’s own vice president, Mike Pence, would have been hanged in the insurrection, his body left as a warning to all Americans. Do not cross Donald Trump.
The NAACP filed a federal lawsuit against the former president and his personal attorney Rudolph W. Giuliani. It stated that they “violated a 19th-century statute when they tried to prevent the certification of the election on Jan. 6.” The New York Times reported that Thompson and others in the lawsuit were seeking compensatory and punitive damages:
‘Other Democrats in Congress — including Representatives Hank Johnson of Georgia and Bonnie Watson Coleman of New Jersey — are expected to join as plaintiffs in the coming weeks, according to the N.A.A.C.P.’
This lawsuit claimed the two men “violated the Ku Klux Klan Act, an 1871 statute that includes protections against violent conspiracies that interfered with Congress’s constitutional duties,” AL.com noted. It also named the white supremacist group, Proud Boys, and the Oath Keepers militia:
‘The legal action accuses Mr. Trump, Mr. Giuliani and the two groups of conspiring to incite a violent riot at the Capitol, with the goal of preventing Congress from certifying the election.’
‘[T]hreats of physical violence against any member who attempted to proceed to approve the Electoral College ballot count.’
Thompson was seeking damages in the lawsuit filed in Federal District Court in Washington.” He said he was placed at a health risk and would have sued Trump regardless of the impeachment trial outcome:
‘I feared for my life. Not a day passes that I don’t think about this incident. I was committed to seeing justice brought to this situation. This is me, and hopefully others, having our day in court to address the atrocities of Jan. 6. I trust the better judgment of the courts because obviously Republican members of the Senate could not do what the evidence overwhelmingly presented.’
‘There were a number of members who were very concerned about being housed in those numbers with people refusing to wear masks.’
Senate Minority Leader Mitch Grim Reaper McConnell (R-KY) voted to acquit Trump, but then he said at the conclusion of the trial:
‘He didn’t get away with anything, yet. We have a criminal justice system in this country. We have civil litigation.’
President of the N.A.A.C.P Derrick Johnson said they were fighting against white supremacy:
‘The Southern Poverty Law Center filed a lawsuit against the Ku Klux Klan that bankrupted a chapter. This is very similar. If we do nothing, we can be ensured these groups will continue to spread and grow in their boldness. We must curb the spread of white supremacy.’
Deputy General Counsel of the N.A.A.C.P. Janette McCarthy Louard said:
‘Underlying this insurrection were the actions of folks who were challenging the voices of people of color. If you look at whose votes were being challenged, these came from largely urban areas. The votes of people of color were being challenged.’
The Mueller Report Adventures: In Bite-Sizes on this Facebook page. These quick, two-minute reads interpret the report in normal English for busy people. Mueller Bite-Sizes uncovers what is essentially a compelling spy mystery. Interestingly enough, Mueller Bite-Sizes can be read in any order.
