WASHINGTON — The Justice Department said Thursday that police officers can sue former President Donald Trump for violence on Capitol Hill on Jan. 6, 2021.

Lawyers for the Justice Department’s civil division made clear in a court filing in the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia that Trump does not have absolute immunity from multiple civil lawsuits, brought by police officers and members of the Congress, seeking to hold them liable for damages resulting from the riots on January 6.

«Speaking to the public on matters of public concern is a traditional function of the presidency, and the outer perimeter of the president’s office includes a vast arena for such speaking,» the report said. «But that traditional function is one of public communication. It does not include incitement to imminent private violence of the kind that the district court found the plaintiffs’ complaints have plausibly alleged here.»

Then-President Donald Trump arrives to speak to supporters near the White House on January 6, 2021.Brendan Smialowski / AFP – File Getty Images

The report carefully avoids taking a position on whether Trump is actually responsible for causing the riot, civilly or criminally, but urges the appeals court to reject Trump’s immunity claim and send the cases back to a lower court for further litigation. .

«Such a limited decision would leave for further district court proceedings (and, if necessary, future appeal) any renewed assertion of absolute immunity more narrowly focused on whether the former president’s speech actually constituted incitement,» the lawyers wrote. of the Department of Justice.

US District Judge Amit Mehta first rejected Trump’s immunity claim in February 2022, ruling that Trump’s speech during the January 6 rally at the White House Ellipse cannot be considered part of his duties. official presidential

“The president’s actions here are unrelated to his duties to faithfully execute the laws, direct foreign affairs, command the armed forces, or administer the executive branch,” Mehta wrote at the time. “They all refer to his efforts to remain in office for a second term. These are unofficial acts, so the concerns about the separation of powers that justify broad immunity for the president are not present here.”

In August 2022, Mehta denied Trump’s attempt to dismiss three lawsuits filed by police officers injured in the January 6 riots, rejecting his claim that he is «absolutely immune» to lawsuits.