Seven Capitol Hill police officers filed a complaint Thursday against former President Donald Trump and extremist groups.
They accuse them of being directly responsible for the murderous assault on the seat of the US Congress in Washington on January 6.
The former White House host is already the target of a complaint from elected Democrats for his alleged responsibility in this attack which wavered American democracy for a few hours.
Hundreds of pro-Trump demonstrators forced entry into Congress as parliamentarians gathered to certify Democrat Joe Biden's victory over incumbent Republican President in November 2020. Five people died during or shortly after the attack , including a police officer but also a demonstrator.
In addition, two police officers committed suicide in the following days.
Far-right groups targeted
The complaint was filed in a Washington court by a collective of human rights lawyers, on behalf of seven police officers who clashed with the protesters.
It targets the ex-president, his presidential campaign organization Roger Stone (a close friend of Donal Trump), the far-right groups Proud Boys, Oath Keepers and Three Percenters, as well as several of their leaders.
They are accused of having "illegally used force, intimidation and threats to prevent Congress from certifying the results" of the presidential election, while Donald Trump has always refused to acknowledge his defeat.
The police officers charged with protecting the Congress "were violently attacked, received spitting, were sprayed with tear gas and anti-bear repellent, suffered racist slurs and their lives were threatened", details the complaint.
Five of the seven police officers are African-American.
"Galvanized" white supremacists
The plaintiffs also claim that "for months after the announcement of the (election) results, former President Trump and his accomplices organized coordinated and systematic attempts to bring their false allegations of electoral fraud to justice."
"The lies of this conspiracy have intentionally galvanized white supremacists and violent extremist groups, and actively encouraged them to coordinate the violent assault on Capitol Hill," it says in the complaint.
A parliamentary commission of inquiry has been created to shed light on the attack on Congress.
Heard in July by elected officials, police officers described the physical and verbal violence suffered during the assault.
Nearly 600 people were arrested for their participation in the attack.
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