Donald Trump sued under Reconstruction-era law Ku Klux Klan Act; read its history

US Representative for Mississippi’s 2nd Congressional District Bennie Thompson has sued Former President Donald Trump and attorney Rudy Giuliani for allegedly aligning with far right groups to exhort the January 6 Capitol violence. He also accused him of violating the 19th century "Ku Klux Klan Act". In a lawsuit filed on January 16, Thompson accused both the Republicans of conspiring with Proud Boys and Oath Keepers to coerce the Congress into not accepting Joe Biden’s electoral victory. The lawsuit filed by the Democrat marks the first civil action filed on Trump pertaining to the mob violence.

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Trump, who jeopardized America’s transition of power by not conceding to poll results, was impeached by the House for inciting the Capitol violence. However, he was acquitted in the Senate for the charges which could have prevented him from taking any public office ever again. Giuliani, a fervent ally of Trump, meanwhile, has been accused of spreading election-related conspiracy theories.

What is Ku Klux Klan?

The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee also cited a federal statute passed that allows civil actions to be brought against people who use "force, intimidation, or threat" to prevent anyone from upholding the duties of their office. The 19th-century statute was first passed against the Ku Klux Klan, a White Supremacist group. Despite, ratification of the 14th Amendment in the US Constitution following the civil war, the Ku Klux Klan threatened the Black residents and forced them to stop exercising their rights.

While, the amendment granted citizenship to all people born or naturalised in the United States, including formerly enslaved people, the Ku Klux Klan terrorised Black citizens from voting, competing for public office amongst other things. Troubled by their sordid acts, the US Congress passed multiple “enforcement acts” in 1870 and 1871 including the infamous Ku Klux Klan Act. The act was introduced in March 1871 by Rep. Samuel Shellabarger of Ohio and later signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant in April.

What happens next?

If the case proceeds, it would mean the former President and others would be subject to discovery and depositions, potentially exposing details and evidence that weren't released during the Senate impeachment trial. In his lawsuit, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee cited the Reconstruction-era law. Additionally, he also highlighted all Trump’s speeches and tweets which eventually mobilised his supporters to attack the Capitol Complex. That acquittal is likely to open the door to fresh legal scrutiny over Trump's actions before and during the siege.

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The Former United States President Donald Trump on Saturday has been acquitted in his unprecedented second impeachment trial for inciting violence on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. Over a month after the Capitol violence, the Senate assembled for a rare weekend session to deliver its verdict, voting while armed National Guard troops continued to stand their posts outside the iconic building. Trump is the only president to has been impeached twice. The former Republican President was impeached by the House of Representatives by 232-197 votes on January 13 over ‘Incitement of insurrection’. Meanwhile, in the aftermath of acquittal Trump said that his political movement to Make America Great Again had just begun.