GRASPING

Trump Trying to Use Criminal Charges to Pause Jan. 6 Lawsuit

The suit accuses the former president of contributing to the death of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick.

Donald Trump is seeking to put on hold a lawsuit relating to the January 6 Capitol riot on the grounds that he is now facing criminal charges. The wrongful death suit accuses the former president of contributing to the death of Brian Sicknick, the Capitol Police officer who was hit in the face with a chemical spray and collapsed while responding to the mob of Trump supporters. Sicknick died the following day after suffering strokes which a medical examiner deemed “natural causes.” Following Trump’s federal indictment earlier this month relating to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, his lawyers said in a Monday filing that the criminal case “overlaps substantially” with the allegations in the lawsuit from Sicknick’s estate, and that the criminal proceedings must take precedent. “Forcing President Trump to defend this case while simultaneously defending a criminal prosecution based on related conduct would undoubtedly compromise either his right to defend himself in this case, his criminal defense, or both,” Trump’s attorneys argued.