The Biden Administration’s Department of Justice (DOJ) announced it will cover potential damages for former President Donald Trump in a lawsuit against the clearing of Black Lives Matter (BLM) protesters outside the White House in 2020, according to court filings released Monday.
James Touhey Jr., director of the Torts Branch in the civil division of the DOJ, wrote in the filing that Trump is entitled to the DOJ’s financial support for damages in a civil lawsuit filed in 2020 that alleges he violated the rights of BLM protesters by supposedly using the National Guard and D.C. police, equipped with tear gas and riot gear, to forcibly clear Lafayette Square in order to take photos in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church. In 2020, Democrats widely criticized and blamed Trump for the events of the day, with Vice President Kamala Harris saying in June of that year on X that Trump “tear-gassed peaceful protesters,” with an investigation later revealing that Trump did not directly order law enforcement to disperse the protesters.
“On the basis of the information now available with respect to the claims set forth therein, I find that Donald J. Trump was acting within the scope of federal office or employment at the time of the incident out of which the plaintiffs’ claims arise,” Touhey wrote. (RELATED: DOJ Blocks Conservative Groups, Media From Obtaining Biden-Hur Tapes)
If found liable, the DOJ will pay damages caused by Trump in his official capacity as President, according to Politico. In July, the Supreme Court ruled that presidents have immunity for acts taken in the official capacity of the office.
The DOJ also filed a motion Monday to dismiss the case, claiming that the plaintiffs did not direct their complaint to the executive office of the president and instead at Trump himself and that the plaintiffs failed to present enough evidence for their charges, according to the motion.
Law enforcement responds during a protest near Lafayette Park ahead of President Trump’s trip to St. John’s Church on June 1, 2020 in downtown Washington, DC. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Other Democrats, such as then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and former Bill Clinton spokesman George Stephanopolous, criticized Trump at the time of the incident, with Pelosi likening his actions to those of a “banana republic” and Stephanopolous saying the Trump administration ordered the dispersal directly for the purpose of the photo.
The 2020 riots following the death of George Floyd were the most costly in U.S. insurance history, totaling over $1 billion in damages incurred by insurance companies, according to Axios. In D.C., rioters clashed with police, smashing car windows and storefronts as well as setting fires, with Mayor Muriel Bowser at the time saying Trump was being “divisive” on his Twitter during the protests, according to The Washington Post.
The DOJ did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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