NAACP sues Trump and Guiliani

The lawsuit alleges the pair incited Jan. 6 riot, violated Ku Klux Klan Act

by morgan miles, staff writer

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) filed a lawsuit against former President Donald Trump, his lawyer Rudy Guiliani and two white supremacist groups last Tuesday.  

The NAACP alleges that Trump, Guiliani and the two white supremacist groups broke the 1871 Ku Klux Klan (KKK) Act. The KKK Act was designed during the Reconstruction era to protect lawmakers in Congress from white supremacist violence and conspiracies. 

The alleged violations of the KKK Act surround a conspiracy against Congress’ 2020 election certification progress. The NAACP’s evidence of this conspiracy is mainly supported by the storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6.  

The two white supremacist groups accused alongside Trump and Giuliani are known as the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers. 

The Proud Boys is a far-right group exclusively made up of men with neofascist and white nationalist ideologies. 

The Oath Keepers aim to “defend the constitution” as a far-right, anti-government militia organization. FBI investigations into the Capitol riot have discovered that authorities spanning from police to military officers compose Oath Keeper’s base. 

Former President Trump’s recent acquittal by the U.S. Senate sparked the NAACP to take its own legal action in defense of the safety of the country against extremist groups. 

At first hopeful for justice from Republicans openly admitting they desire litigation regarding the Capitol riots, the NAACP eventually decided to take the issue into the hands of the organization. By reacting now, the NAACP believes there’s a better chance at avoiding more violent uprisings against the government.  

Spokespeople have represented Trump thus far in response to the lawsuit’s allegations. Overall, these responses encompass refusal of inciting or being responsible at all for the events of the Jan. 6 Capitol riots.  

On campus, sophomore nursing major Lizzie Jira provided a local response to the lawsuit.

“I do think that he definitely has some sort of responsibility for it,” she claimed, in reference to Trump.  

Though Jira understands there’s a possibility Trump may not have directly violated the KKK Act, she explained, “When you have that much power and that position, you kind of have to think about how your actions might affect other people… he should’ve had the idea that his actions would have consequences”.  

Together, the white supremacist groups were allegedly at the forefront of violence, whereas Trump is being accused of stepping far over the boundaries of his duties during presidency. 

Guiliani is accused of alleged voter fraud and attempts of voter rejection. At the moment, a database of Capitol charges is being updated daily, as others who participated in the riots — and not being sued by the NAACP — are also gradually held accountable.  

The NAACP hopes that winning the lawsuit will reduce the amount of future domestic terrorism attacks as well as reduce the presence and power of extremist groups. 

Supposedly, regardless of the outcome, Trump will lose a significant amount of money. The NAACP lawsuit is merely one of many financial problems the former president is facing or will have to face. Some believe the lawsuit will ultimately bankrupt Trump, but for now his potential for retaining financial power is unknown.  

Reps. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), Hank Johnson (D-Ga) and Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.) are plaintiffs for the case alongside the NAACP and civil rights law firm Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll.