Congressman Bennie Thompson, the Democratic legislator who is a partner of NAACP in a lawsuit against former President Trump and Rudy Giuliani, says he is looking forward to his day in court.
“Donald Trump needs to go. If he doesn’t, we will put him out of business,” Thompson, chairman of the House’s Homeland Security Committee, told CBSN in an interview on Wednesday. He spoke to NAACP President Derrick Johnson about the legal action they are pursuing against those who wish to be held responsible for January 6. assault on the US Capitol.
Thompson, represented by the NAACP, filed the lawsuit on Tuesday, claiming that Trump, Giuliani and the far-right groups Proud Boys and Oath Keepers conspired to incite the attack while lawmakers met to reaffirm From President Biden Victory of the Electoral College.
The lawsuit accuses them of violating the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, which prohibits two or more people from conspiring to “prevent, by force, intimidation or threat”, any holder of office from exercising their functions.
“The law was put in place to protect members of Congress so that we can really have a democracy that fulfills the promise of the Constitution, without individuals fearing their intimidation or threatening their lives,” said Johnson, adding that Capitol disturbances “fit perfectly” with the reason the legislation was passed.
Thompson compared the modern day extremist groups like the Proud boys and Oath Keepers to the Ku Klux Klan, claiming that the groups “left the connection with the Klan”.
“They tried to do everything to prevent people of color and progressives from claiming their rights as American citizens, so this is an opportunity – from a punitive point of view in this process – to put them out of business,” he said. .
Mr Trump was acquitted by the Senate in its second impeachment trial after House impeachment managers spent four days presenting evidence linking the former president’s false allegations of a “stolen” election to the January 6 violent events. Trump issued a statement saying he “did not incite or conspire to incite” violence on the Capitol.
Thompson said the arguments and evidence presented by his colleagues in the House “justify this process”. He pointed to Trump’s repeated Twitter posts telling followers to come to Washington on Jan. 6, culminating in a fiery speech during which the then president said to his followers, “Let’s go down to the Capitol” as legislators met. for counting votes.
“The only thing that was scheduled to happen on January 6 was certification of the election,” added Thompson.
Despite the ex-president’s acquittal in the Senate, Johnson said he is confident the case will be brought to court.
“It is a different pattern, it is not based on partisanship,” he said. “We believe that there are enough facts, videos and statements directly from the president – whether given in speeches or through his tweets – that will conclusively show that there was a conspiracy to prevent the peaceful transfer of power in this country.”