The Justice Department has moved to replace President Trump as a defendant in civil lawsuits that a Democratic lawmaker and some police officers filed against the president over the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.
In its Thursday filing, the Justice Department told U.S. District Court Judge Amit P. Mehta of the District of Columbia that under the Federal Tort Claims Act, the Justice Department is substituted for federal employees, and that Mr. Trump was acting in his official scope on Jan. 6.
“For the foregoing reasons, the United States has been substituted as the defendant with respect to the remaining state law claims for relief,” the department’s filing stated.
Judge Mehta, an Obama appointee, had previously rejected the argument that Mr. Trump was acting in his official capacity on Jan. 6 in allowing the cases to move forward.
The Justice Department’s position is in contrast to the Biden Justice Department, which sought to prosecute Mr. Trump criminally over the events that surrounded the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Rep. Eric Swalwell, California Democrat, filed a lawsuit in March of 2021, seeking to hold Mr. Trump liable for allegedly violating civil rights, inciting a riot, negligence and inciting violence at the president’s Jan. 6 rally near the White House. The lawsuit also sued Mr. Trump’s former personal attorney Rudolph Giuliani, Donald Trump Jr. and former Rep. Mo Brooks, Alabama Republican. Mr. Swalwell also alleged emotional distress.
Police officers similarly launched suits trying to hold the president accountable, and the cases were consolidated under Judge Mehta.
Mr. Trump rallied his supporters on Jan. 6, 2021, to protest the certification of the 2020 election results at the Capitol.
