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The partner of Brian Sicknick, a Capitol Police officer who died following the January 6 riot, is suing Donald Trump and two other defendants charged with assaulting the officer during the attack.
Sandra Garza, the girlfriend of the fallen officer, who represents the estate of Sicknick, accused the former president as well as Julian Khater and George Tanios of being "directly and vicariously liable" for Sicknick's death.
In a suit filed in a Washington D.C. court on Thursday, Garza said that the officer's death was a result of the defendants' "intentional words and actions," including Trump inciting his supporters to storm the Capitol in support of his false claims that the 2020 election had been rigged against him.
Sicknick died one day after protecting the Capitol during the riot on January 6, 2021. It was ruled that Sicknick died of natural causes after suffering multiple strokes hours after the riot took place.
Capitol Police declared that Sicknick had "died in the line of duty, courageously defending Congress and the Capitol."
In September, Khater pleaded guilty to assaulting three officers on January 6, including Sicknick, with a chemical spray. Tanios, who is said to have handed the spray to Khater during the disorder, pleaded guilty in July to several offenses, including assault on a federal officer with a dangerous weapon and conspiracy to injure an officer.
"As a direct and foreseeable consequence of Defendant Trump's false and incendiary allegations of fraud and theft, and in direct response to Defendant Trump's express calls for violence at the rally, a violent mob attacked the U.S. Capitol," the lawsuit states.
"Many participants in the attack have since revealed that they were acting on what they believed to be Defendant Trump's direct orders in service of their country.
"The horrific events of January 6, 2021, including Officer Sicknick's tragic, wrongful death, were a direct and foreseeable consequence of the Defendants' unlawful actions. As such, the Defendants are responsible for the injury and destruction that followed."
The lawsuit is seeking $30 million in damages from Trump, Khater, and Tanios over Sicknick's death.
In a statement on the suit, a spokesperson for Trump told Newsweek: "President Trump clearly and unequivocally stated that Americans should 'peacefully and patriotically make their voices heard.' Yet, Big Tech companies unilaterally censored and suppressed his calls for peace and should thus be held accountable for their appalling actions.
"By contrast, radical Democrats like Maxine Waters and many others have promoted ultra-violence against conservatives and those who will not bow down to their deranged ideology. President Trump is immune from frivolous attacks and will continue to be fully focused on his mission to Make America Great Again."
The suit was filed on the eve of the second anniversary of the insurrection. In December, the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 attack recommended that the Department of Justice charge Trump with four crimes in connection to the riot, including conspiracy to defraud the government, and inciting or assisting an insurrection.
An 845-page report from the panel also accused Trump of being the head of a "multi-part conspiracy" to overturn the 2020 election results and of being the "central cause" of the January 6 attack.
Trump is also facing a number of other lawsuits from police officers who were injured during the Capitol riot.
The former president is facing three separate suits from Capitol Police officers Briana Kirkland and Marcus Moore, as well as Metropolitan Police Department Officers Bobby Tabron and DeDivine K. Carter, who allege Trump is responsible for the January 6 attack and therefore, the injuries the officers suffered during the violence.
In August, District Judge Amit Mehta rejected Trump's attempts to have the suits thrown out by citing the claim that he has absolute immunity because his actions fell within his presidential duties.
In November, Washington District Judge Emmet Sullivan also ruled that Trump can't use the absolute immunity defense in a lawsuit brought forward by the NAACP and the Michigan Welfare Rights Organization.
The lawsuit claims that Trump and the Republican National Committee committed civil rights violations by attempting to disenfranchise voters in the days after the 2020 election by ways of "targeted harassment, intimidation, and efforts to prevent the complete counting and certification" of valid ballots in a number of states.
In a Truth Social post on December 26, Trump said "I did nothing wrong," in relation to the January 6 attack, while once again arguing "I have total Immunity" regardless.
06/01/2022: This article has been updated with a statement from Donald Trump's spokesperson.
About the writer
Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, and Florida ... Read more