District of Columbia brings civil suit against Proud Boys and Oath Keepers over Jan. 6
D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine announces a civil lawsuit against the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers for what he alleges was their “planning, promoting and participating” in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol and causing harm to the District of Columbia and to law enforcement officers.
Video Transcript
KARL RACINE: It is for these reasons that the independent office of attorney general for the District of Columbia is filing the first civil lawsuit by a state or municipal government to hold accountable the Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers, and more than 30 of their leaders and members for conspiring to terrorize the District of Columbia, for unlawfully interfering with our country's peaceful transition of power, and for assaulting our men and women in blue who valiantly defended the Capitol, the district, and our freedoms.
Specifically, we're bringing this lawsuit pursuant to local and federal laws, including the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, a Reconstruction-era federal law designed to protect our country against violent conspiracies, protect our citizens against violent conspiracies like the attack that took place on January 6.
In the complaint, which has been filed and is public, we specifically allege that these vigilantes, insurrectionists, and masters of a lawless mob conspired against the District of Columbia, its law-enforcement officers, and residents by planning, promoting, and participating in the violent attack on the United States Capitol. We further allege the named defendants caused substantial and provable damage to the District of Columbia and, in particular, to our courageous law enforcement officers who risked their lives-- and some even died-- to defend the capital, the district, and our country's freedoms.
As the independent attorney general, I have the responsibility to enforce our laws and hold these violent defendants accountable because they cause actual physical and financial harm to our city, its employees, and our residents.
