D.C. Attorney General Karl A. Racine announced Tuesday that his office is suing two far-right groups — the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers — for their roles in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Mr. Racine said during a news conference that he will be seeking “severe” financial penalties from the groups and dozens of members for planning and carrying out the attempt to stop Congress from certifying President Biden’s election.
“These vigilantes, insurrectionists and masters of a lawless mob conspired against the District of Columbia, its law enforcement officers and residents by planning, promoting and participating in the violent attack on the United States Capitol,” he said.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, cites the two groups, 31 alleged members or affiliates, and 50 unnamed defendants. It claims the defendants conspired to incite a riot, interrupt Congress, trespass on federal property and commit acts of violence.
The city’s Democratic attorney general likened the Capitol riot to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
“It was like 9/11 — a planned terrorist attack — but this time our own citizens were hellbent on destroying the freedoms and ideals on which our country was founded, and continues to aspire to achieve,” Mr. Racine said.
The Justice Department has charged more than 700 people so far in connection with the Capitol riot.
