Jan. 6 Capitol riot participants file lawsuit accusing police of excessive force

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Scripps News

Posted 10:26 AM, Mar 30, 2026


Dozens of people who participated in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol are suing the federal government, accusing responding officers of using excessive force. The class-action lawsuit, filed in federal court in Florida, alleges U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department “indiscriminately” fired chemical munitions, pepper spray and other projectiles into a crowd gathered on the Capitol’s west side.

The complaint says the plaintiffs were exercising their First Amendment right to protest the certification of the 2020 presidential election results and describes the crowd as “overwhelmingly peaceful” before officers began using force. It alleges protesters were not given required warnings to disperse before chemical agents and munitions were deployed.

The plaintiffs claim they suffered injuries, including chemical burns, concussions and emotional distress. The lawsuit accuses the government of negligence, assault and failures in supervision and crowd control planning.

The events of Jan. 6 were widely broadcast, showing rioters breaching the Capitol as Congress met to certify the election. About 140 law enforcement officers were injured, and the building sustained significant damage.

Read more: https://www.scrippsnews.com/us-news/jan-6-capitol-riot-participants-file-lawsuit-accusing-police-of-excessive-force

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Link to SUIT (PDF) - https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flmd.456524/gov.uscourts.flmd.456524.1.0.pdf

[dpibel]

1. Climb aboard the Bondi gravy train

The DOJ's in payout mode, at least for the right people.

Just ask Gen. Flynn.

[Klarkashton]

2. If there was a precedent set with a suit like that

Then maybe a million protesters in this country would be owed a bundle of money.

[tanyev]

3. Oh, no! Violent treasonous mob wasn't greeted with cookies and juice boxes?

[cbabe]

4. Reminds me of the old joke: a guy kills his parents but gets off

since he’s an orphan.

[Initech]

5. They were trying to murder representatives and senators!

They got off incredibly light. Fuck the J6 morons.

[TomSlick]

6. It's a scam.

The DOJ will quickly "settle," paying the insurrectionists thousands of taxpayer dollars.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

9. There are lawyers who create "class action" lawsuits,

promising "victims" a huge payout if they participate.

Then they use the large size of the class to threaten the defendents with huge losses. The defendents will settle rather than face the uncertainty of a jury trial. This will be passed on to the customers (or taxpayers).

The lawyers grab half the settlement, plus expenses (expert witnesses, etc.). The class participants, expecting a huge payout, end up with squat.

The real question is, who are the attorneys behind the class action?

[TomSlick]

10. I have seen it in every class action case in which I have been involved.

The named plaintiffs - the class representatives - get a fragment of a bone. The other class members get only nominal recoveries. Most apparent members of the class ignore the class action notice so they add to the claim. The only winners are the class action attorneys.

I don't have a good answer. The theory is that class action cases are needed to protect against misconduct with minimal damages to any individual. Companies are moving to contract requirements for non-class arbitration. I once was philosophically opposed to mandatory arbitration but have defended enough class actions that can only benefit the lawyers that I have changed my mind.

The costs of almost inevitable class action lawsuit are baked into the costs of every good or services. We all pay so that class action lawyers can make big money.

[Martin68]

7. Good luck with that, mother fuckers.

[TomSlick]

11. Wait and watch.

The fix is in. Trump's DoJ will fold immediately. Tax money will be paid to the insurrectionists.

[Martin68]

12. Every new crime is out from under the pardons. They will be arrested, indicted, and imprisoned.

[TomSlick]

13. Arrested by whom? Indicted by whom?

Trump's DOJ will never do anything other than to pay settlements.

[Martin68]

14. If there commit crimes th4y will be arrested by the police and indicted by the prosecutor. They don't

have immunity. Our justice system is still working, particularly on the local level where Trump has no jurisdiction to pardon.

[orangecrush]

8. Fuck those assholes