2 Capitol police officers who were on duty during the January 6 siege sued Trump for inciting riot

• Two Capitol police officers have sued Trump, accusing him of inciting the mob that stormed the Capitol on January 6.
• Officers James Blassingame and Sidney Hemby claimed they sustained both physical and mental injuries in the riots.
• The lawsuit from the two Capitol police officers followed two similar suits from Democratic lawmakers.
• See more stories on Insider’s business page.

Two Capitol police officers sued former President Donald Trump, accusing him of inciting the violent insurrection on January 6.

The lawsuit was in relation to injuries they sustained during the riots by the “insurrectionist mob, which that Trump had inflamed, encouraged, incited, directed, and aided and abetted,” according to court documents obtained by Insider.

The complaint was filed Tuesday by officers James Blassingame and Sidney Hemby, claiming that they were assaulted by protesters who sprayed them with aerosol chemicals like pepper spray, bear spray, and tear gas, which left chemical burns on their skin. They were among other officers who were attacked with “rocks, bottles, fire extinguishers, metal poles,” according to court documents.

Alongside the physical injuries he received during the riots, Blassingame also sustained a “severe emotional toll” in light of the incident, including depression, according to the lawsuit.

“He is haunted by the memory of being attacked, and of the sensory impacts – the sights, sounds, smells and even tastes of the attack remain close to the surface,” the lawsuit reads. “He experiences guilt of being unable to help his colleagues who were simultaneously being attacked; and of surviving where other colleagues did not.”

The lawsuit said the January 6 riots took a mental toll on Hemby as well.

“When he got home on the night of January 6, 2021, he was in a heightened emotional state and unable to sleep,” the lawsuit read. “He relived the moments he was under attack. He felt unsafe and each time he drifted off to sleep, he was awakened by the fear that people were trying to break into his home.”

The officers are seeking unspecified monetary damages with the lawsuit, but documents say the “amount in controversy exceeds $75,000, not counting interest and costs.”

The lawsuit from the two Capitol police officers followed two suits from Democratic lawmakers – Rep. Eric Swalwell and Rep. Bennie Thompson – in connection to the Capitol siege.