Racine files lawsuit against Proud Boys, Oath Keepers for 'conspiring to terrorize' DC

by Sam Ford and Greg Dailey

Tue, December 14th 2021, 5:33 PM UTC

FILE - In this Jan. 6, 2021, file photo insurrections loyal to President Donald Trump rally at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. A federal judge held the director of the District of Columbia’s Department of Corrections and the warden of the city’s jail in contempt of court on Wednesday, Oct. 13, and asked the Justice Department to investigate whether the civil rights of inmates are being abused. U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth had hauled the jail officials into court as part of the criminal case into Christopher Worrell, a member of the Proud Boys who has been charged in the Jan. 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

{p}D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine announced outside the U.S. Capitol that the District of Columbia is filing a civil lawsuit against the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers for their part in the January 6, 2021 riot. (Sam Ford/7News){/p}

$In this Jan. 6, 2021, photo, Proud Boys including Joseph Biggs, front left, walks toward the U.S. Capitol in Washington, in support of President Donald Trump. With the megaphone is Ethan Nordean, second from left. The Proud Boys and Oath Keepers make up a fraction of the more than 300 Trump supporters charged so far in the siege that led to Trump's second impeachment and resulted in the deaths of five people, including a police officer. But several of their leaders, members and associates have become the central targets of the Justice Department’s sprawling investigation. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)$

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FILE - In this Jan. 6, 2021, file photo insurrections loyal to President Donald Trump rally at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. A federal judge held the director of the District of Columbia’s Department of Corrections and the warden of the city’s jail in contempt of court on Wednesday, Oct. 13, and asked the Justice Department to investigate whether the civil rights of inmates are being abused. U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth had hauled the jail officials into court as part of the criminal case into Christopher Worrell, a member of the Proud Boys who has been charged in the Jan. 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

WASHINGTON (7News) — D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine announced outside the U.S. Capitol that the District of Columbia is filing a civil lawsuit against the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers for their part in the January 6, 2021 riot.

"I’m suing the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers, the first civil lawsuit by a government entity against the Jan. 6 insurrectionists," Racine said a statement. "They caused extensive damage to the District, our democracy and particularly the brave men and women of our Metropolitan Police Department."

The lawsuit has asked to recover damages the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers caused to the District, "particularly the physical, mental, and emotional injuries suffered" by D.C. police officers.

The attorney general said the purpose of the lawsuit is threefold:

to hold the groups and individuals accountable for their actions
to deter them and others from taking such action again
to recover damages for the costs the District incurred as a result of the attack

"We’re holding these insurrectionists accountable for conspiring to terrorize the District by planning, promoting, and participating in the deadly attack on the Capitol," Racine said. "I’m seeking damages in this case and will keep working to ensure such an assault never happens again."

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, the Anti-Defamation League's national director, the CEO of States United Democracy Center and DC Councilmember Charles Allen were present at the announcement Tuesday afternoon.

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