Donald Trump and Rudy Giuliani have been sued by a Democrat for inciting the Capitol insurrection.
Despite the former President being acquitted of the same charge in his impeachment trial, Representative Bennie Thompson is confident he can get the pair to face punishment over the January 6 incident that saw five people killed.
The legal challenge has been lodged in US District Court and uses a provision of the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871. It's the first civil action filed against the former President related to the attack at the Capitol.
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A snippet of the lawsuit has been released, and states: "The insurrection was the result of a carefully orchestrated plan by Trump, Giuliani and extremist groups like the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys, all of whom shared a common goal of employing intimidation, harassment and threats to stop the certification of the electoral college.
"It was the intended and foreseeable culmination of a carefully coordinated campaign to interfere with the legal process required to confirm the tally of votes cast in the Electoral College."
The KKK Act was introduced just after the Civil War to protect officials from violence when carrying out their constitutional duties.
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The Capitol riots happened as politicians were officiating the results from the Electoral College votes belonging to the 2020 US Election.
The lawsuit brought on by congressman Bennie Thompson alleges Trump and Giuliani 'carefully coordinated' a strategy to stop Congress confirming Joe Biden won the election.
It also says it wasn't a coincidence that the insurrection happened just after hundreds of MAGA supporters gathered in Washington D.C. to hear then-President Trump speak.
In the speech he claimed people needed to 'fight like hell', because if they don't then they 'won't have a country left'.
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Democrat Bennie Thompson said while it's unusual to use a law from the 1800s, he reckons it has a chance.
The politician's lawyer Joseph Sellers said: "Fortunately, this hasn't been used very much. But what we see here is so unprecedented that it's really reminiscent of what gave rise to the enactment of this legislation right after the Civil War."
If the lawsuit is allowed to proceed, there could be more explosive details and evidence examined by the court that wasn't revealed during the Senate impeachment trial.
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Spokesman for Donald Trump, Jason Miller, has hit back at the claims the former President incited the Capitol insurrection.
"President Trump has been acquitted in the Democrats' latest Impeachment Witch Hunt, and the facts are irrefutable," Miller said in a statement.
"President Trump did not plan, produce or organise the Jan. 6th rally on the Ellipse. President Trump did not incite or conspire to incite any violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6th."
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