Donald Trump’s legal team spent the anniversary of the January 6th Capitol attack in court, working hard to dismiss lawsuits that accuse him of being responsible for the chaos that day. They argue that a Supreme Court decision from last summer, which gave Trump broad immunity from criminal charges related to his official actions as president, also applies to these lawsuits.
The lawsuits were filed by Capitol Police officers and several members of Congress not long after the attack in 2021. They claim Trump’s words and actions encouraged his supporters to storm the Capitol, and they want him to pay damages for what happened. The big question now is whether Trump was acting in his official role as president when he spoke to the crowd at a rally near the White House before the attack.
At the rally on the Ellipse lawn, Trump spoke to his supporters about fighting for the country, saying, “We fight like hell. And if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.” His lawyers argue that these were words of a president doing his job, which should shield him from lawsuits. But to win, they’ll need to prove that his statements were official presidential actions.
Judge Amit Mehta, who is handling the case, suggested there might need to be a special hearing to figure this out. But Trump’s lawyer, Jonathan Shaw, pushed back, saying the legal rules already make it clear that the lawsuits should be thrown out without extra hearings. He said, “We win unless it is absolutely clear that these are not official acts.”
On the other side, Joseph Sellers, a lawyer for the people suing Trump, argued it’s Trump’s responsibility to prove he deserves immunity, not the other way around. Judge Mehta agreed, saying, “It’s your burden.”
Trump’s legal team has until Friday to file their official argument to get the lawsuits dismissed. After that, the other side has until the end of February to respond and possibly challenge Trump’s claims.
These lawsuits are based on an old law called the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, which was created to stop mob violence against government officials. They were first filed by people like Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, Rep. Barbara Lee of California, and Capitol Police officers, including Conrad Smith and James Blassingame. The lawsuits accuse Trump of spreading false claims that the 2020 election was stolen and of fueling the anger that led to the attack.
Trump, however, insists he didn’t do anything wrong and often points to a part of his speech that day where he told supporters to “peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.” His team has used this line repeatedly in his defense, saying it proves he didn’t incite violence.
Over the weekend, just before the anniversary, Trump was at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, where he continued to push his claims that the 2020 election results should have been reexamined. On the campaign trail, he’s even referred to January 6th as a “day of love” and has defended his actions, saying, “They asked me to speak. I went and I spoke, and I used the term ‘peacefully and patriotically.’”
Now, all eyes are on the court to see whether Trump’s arguments hold up and whether the lawsuits will move forward.