President Donald Trump's return to the Oval Office this week comes much to the dismay of those who hoped his criminal prosecutions would result in accountability for his alleged crimes. It is also a disappointment to those who hoped that merely seeing the flurry of criminal charges against him, especially former special counsel Jack Smith's 2020 election subversion case, would convince enough Americans of the threat he poses to democracy.
But in the wake of Trump's now-moot criminal cases in Washington, Florida and Georgia, alongside his unconditional discharge in the New York hush-money case, a spate of lawsuits are still seeking to hold Trump, the Proud Boys and other defendants to account for the role they played in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
