Donald Trump is being sued by two Capitol Police officers for his involvement in the U.S. Capitol riot that left several people dead. According to legal documents obtained by Bloomberg, officers James Blassingame and Sidney Hemby are seeking unspecified monetary damages from Trump, who incited the attack that they say left them with both physical and mental trauma.
In their lawsuit, the officers say Trump supporters used pepper spray and tear gas against them, which caused their eyes, skin and throats to burn. Blassingame said he “is haunted by the memory of being attacked and of the sensory impacts — the sights, sounds, smells and even tastes of the attack remain close to the surface.”
According to the suit, Blassingame was also subjected to racial slurs from rioters and slammed against a stone column.
“The insurrectionists struck Officer Blassingame in his face, head, chest, arms and what felt like every part of his body. The threats and attacks on Officer Blassingame seemed endless,” the complaint read.
The lawsuit added that Blassingame has suffered depression since the attack. “He experiences guilt of being unable to help his colleagues who were simultaneously being attacked; and of surviving where other colleagues did not,” it read.
The new lawsuit is one of many that Trump has faced in the weeks since the deadly riot. Earlier this month, the former president was sued by Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell, who accused Trump, his son Donald Trump Jr. and Rudy Giuliani of making “false and incendiary allegations” and “express calls for violence at the rally” that led to the riot.
In February, a similar lawsuit was also filed against Trump by the NAACP and Rep. Bennie Thompson.
“The carefully orchestrated series of events that unfolded at the Save America rally and the storming of the Capitol was no accident or coincidence,” the lawsuit read. “It was the intended and foreseeable culmination of a carefully coordinated campaign to interfere with the legal process required to confirm the tally of votes cast in the Electoral College.”