- The U.S. Department of Justice will not defend Republican Rep. Mo Brooks in the January 6 riot lawsuit.
- Democratic Rep. Eric Swarwell is suing Brooks, accusing him of inciting riots.
- The department stated that Brooks’ appearance in the riots did not fall within his scope as a federal employee.
The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday refused to defend Republican Rep. Mo Brooks in a lawsuit in a court document that accused him of conspiring to instigate the riots that occurred in the U.S. Capitol on January 6.
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Brooks had asked the Justice Department to consider his protection under the Western Wilderness Act, which protects federal employees from prosecution for actions taken at work, involving a lawsuit brought by Democratic Congressman Eric Swarwell .
The Department of Justice documents may indicate that it may not be able to defend former President Donald Trump, who was also sued by Swalwell for conspiring to instigate an attack.
The department stated in court documents that it had determined that Brooks’ appearance at the rally on January 6-Trump admonishing his supporters to stop proving Joe Biden’s election victory-was a campaign, not his As part of the job of a member of Congress.
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The department said in the document: “Members of Congress are subject to a series of restrictions. On the one hand, they must carefully distinguish their official functions, on the other hand, they are campaign functions.”
“Inciting or conspiring to incite a violent attack on the U.S. Congress is not within the scope of employment of a member of the House of Representatives or any federal employee, and therefore is not an act by which the U.S. is appropriately substituted as a defendant under the following circumstances. The Westfall Act,” it said.
After the rally, Trump supporters rushed into the Capitol, broke barriers, clashed with the police, and forced members of Congress to flee to safety.
“Today’s action strongly shows that the Justice Department will also refuse to defend Trump’s actions on January 6,” said Anne Tyndall, a lawyer for the advocacy organization protecting democracy, which represented two Capitol Hill police officers individually against Trump. File a lawsuit.
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