Trump Sued for Directing Assault, Battery, and Intentional Inflection of Emotional Distress Brought By Two Capitol Police Officers Injured in Jan. 6 Riot; Chances of Success Slim

You can find the complaint here.

As a regular teacher and scholar of Torts, I am quite skeptical that the officers would be able to prove either the intent necessary for these intentional torts and get around proximate cause problems.

For battery, for example, one generally must intend (at least) to cause a contact with the person of another, which means that one acts with that purpose or with knowledge to substantial certainty that such contact will occur to plaintiffs or a third person. Trump’s actions in encouraging the riot, while despicable and impeachable, probably do not rise to the intent necessary to prove intent to cause a contact.

Here’s NYT’s coverage.

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