Capitol Police Sue 4 Riverside County Residents, Trump

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Former President Donald Trump, Roger Stone, Stop the Steal, Proud Boys, and six Southern California men — including four from Southwest Riverside County — are among those being sued by seven U.S. Capitol Police officers.

The Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol caused them injuries that persist to this day, and the defendants are to blame for the insurrection, the veteran officers contended in their suit.

The six Southern California men were charged in the attack, according to a grand jury indictment unsealed in June.

Ronald Mele, 51, of Temecula; Erik Scott Warner, 45, of Menifee; Felipe Antonio "Tony" Martinez, 47, of Lake Elsinore; and Derek Kinnison, 39, of Lake Elsinore are accused of conspiring with Russell Taylor, 40, of Ladera Ranch and former La Habra police Chief Alan Hostetter, 56, of San Clemente to "corruptly obstruct, influence, and impede the Congressional proceeding at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021,” according to the indictment.

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The men are also named as defendants in the 71-page complaint filed Thursday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. In their lawsuit, the Capitol Police officers laid out their case with a historical timeline of how President Donald Trump and right-wing extremists “provoked, aided, and joined … in an unlawful effort to use force, intimidation, and threats to prevent Congress from certifying the results of the 2020 Presidential election.”

The lawsuit alleged that racism and white supremacy pervaded the defendants' efforts from the outset.

“Defendants targeted false claims of election fraud at cities and states with significant Black populations … and sought to intimidate and threaten officials from those and other jurisdictions into overturning the will of the voters,” the lawsuit said. “They relied on white supremacist group and sympathizers to organize and hold rallies and to help plan and carry out the Capitol Attack.”

Furthermore, Trump and the other defendants sought to incite outrage among Trump supporters and “encouraged and supported acts of violence,” according to the complaint.

As Trump and the other defendants intended, Proud Boys, Oath Keepers and others planned and coordinated “to come to Washington, D.C., and violently attack the United States Capitol and the law enforcement officers defending it,” the complaint states.

As the Capitol breach unfurled, Trump followed the attack on television and social media. Despite calls for him to call off the attackers — including from Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy — Trump “refused to do so for hours … . Instead, Trump encouraged and supported the attackers,” the complaint states.

Even after the attack, Trump praised the rioters, according to the lawsuit: “We love you,” he said. “You’re very special. Remember this day forever.”

The complaint alleges that the defendants “assaulted and injured” the seven plaintiffs and “hundreds of law enforcement officers.”

The defendants violated the Ku Klux Klan Act, which is designed to prevent “precisely the kinds of politically and racially motivated violence [the defendants] caused and committed on January 6,” according to the complaint.

The lawsuit is one of many legal actions against Trump designed to hold him liable for the deadly insurrection. Four people died the day of the attack; one Capitol Police officer died the following day; and as of early August, one Capitol Police officer and three Metropolitan Police Department officers who responded to the riot have died by suicide.

“The injuries and damages suffered by the Plaintiffs were direct and foreseeable consequences of the acts of Trump, co-Defendants, and their co-conspirators,” the complaint alleges. “Plaintiffs suffered significant physical, psychological, and emotional injuries as a result. Defendants must be held accountable … to ensure that what took place on January 6 never happens again.”

Trump has denied any responsibility for the attack.

The plaintiffs have a combined total of more than 150 years as Capitol Police officers. Three of the plaintiffs are U.S. military veterans.

Thursday's lawsuit comes just days after the U.S. Capitol Police's Office of Professional Responsibility found that the USCP officer who shot and killed pro-Trump rioter Ashli Babbitt during the Jan. 6 melee will not face disciplinary action.