The ruling came in civil lawsuits filed against the president for his comments on Jan. 6, 2021.
President Donald Trump’s speech in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021, was not an official act and is thus not covered by immunity, a federal judge said in a March 31 decision.
“President Trump has not shown that the Speech reasonably can be understood as falling within the outer perimeter of his Presidential duties,” U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta ruled.
Trump’s speech on Jan. 6, 2021, was given to a rally at The Ellipse, about 1 mile from the U.S. Capitol.
Lawmakers and others sued Trump, claiming his speech incited the crowd to go to the Capitol and riot.
Trump had sought a dismissal of the lawsuits, arguing he is entitled to immunity for official acts as president and that the speech was an official act.
Supreme Court justices ruled in 2024 that presidents enjoy immunity for core official acts, and presumptive immunity for acts within the outer perimeter of duties, but that unofficial acts are not covered.
Mehta said that contextual facts, such as that White House personnel were not involved in planning the Jan. 6 rally, besides securing an exception for the placement of the stage, supported the position that Trump’s speech fell outside his presidential duties.
The speech was made as then-Vice President Mike Pence and members of Congress met in a joint session to certify the results of the 2020 election and featured Trump urging them to consider alternate slates of electors and saying he, not Joe Biden, had actually won the election.
Mehta said the speech was focused on promoting his alleged 2020 victory, rather than on carrying out official duties, such as ensuring the faithful execution of laws.
“The content of the Ellipse Speech confirms that it is not covered by official-acts immunity,” he wrote.
Damon Hewitt, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, which is representing some of the plaintiffs in the consolidated case, said in a statement that “today’s ruling affirming that Donald Trump is not immune from civil liability is a monumental victory for the rule of law, affirming that no one, including the president of the United States, is above it.”
He added, “The court rightly recognizes that President Trump’s actions leading to the January 6 insurrection fell outside the scope of presidential duties.”
Lawyers for Trump did not respond to a request for comment by publication time.
The ruling denied Trump’s motion to dismiss the case and means the litigation will proceed, although the judge did agree to a request from the president’s lawyers to certify certain issues for appeal, including the new decision.
