The Independent View: Lawsuit Accuses Trump and RNC of Violating the Ku Klux Klan Act

A New Claim filed in Federal Court Accuses Trump and his Campaign, and the Republican National Committee (RNC) of Violating the so-called "Ku Klux Klan Act" in their Efforts to Overturn the Results of the 2020 Election.

The New Complaint alleges that they Engaged in a "coordinated effort" to Disenfranchise Black Voters by "disrupting vote counting efforts, lodging groundless challenges during recounts, and attempting to block certification of election results through intimidation and coercion of election officials and volunteers."

The Third Enforcement Act, also known as the "Ku Klux Klan Act", was passed in 1871 to Enforce the Right to Vote and Prohibit People from conspiring to Deny People their Right to Vote.

The act was passed by the 42nd United States Congress and signed into law by United States President Ulysses S. Grant on April 20, 1871. The act was the last of three Enforcement Acts passed by the United States Congress from 1870 to 1871 during the Reconstruction Era to combat attacks upon the suffrage rights of African Americans.

in 1983 - Every person who under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State or Territory or the District of Columbia, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, Suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress, except that in any action brought against a judicial officer for an act or omission taken in such officer's judicial capacity, injunctive relief shall not be granted unless a declaratory decree was violated or declaratory relief was unavailable. For the purposes of this section, any Act of Congress applicable exclusively to the District of Columbia shall be considered to be a statute of the District of Columbia.

The Amended Complaint Updates a Lawsuit filed Last Month against Trump in his Personal Capacity by a Group of Black Voters in Detroit, alleging the Targeted Effort to Overturn the Election Repeats One of the "worst abuses in our nation's history" by Attempting to Disenfranchise African American Voters.

The Suit had Alleged Trump Violated the Voting Rights Act.

The RNC has now been Added as a Defendant, and the NAACP has Officially signed on as a Plaintiff.

The Original Suit, filed in D.C. Federal Court, Primarily focused on Trump's Actions in Detroit, but this New Amended Complaint alleges a much Broader National Scheme, Detailing efforts by Trump and the RNC in: Georgia; Michigan; Pennsylvania; and Elsewhere, to Change the Outcome of the Election.

"Defendants' efforts to disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of voters -- targeting cities with large Black populations, including Detroit, Michigan, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Atlanta, Georgia -- repeat the worst abuses in our nation's history," the Complaint states.

Trump and his Allies have been Pushing Allegations of Widespread Voting Fraud, a Baseless Claim for which they have produced No meaningful Evidence. The Complaint presents many of those Claims, which include Tweets and Public Statements, as Evidence of the Effort to Throw-Out Votes in Minority Communities.

"By targeting communities of color with false claims of voter fraud, and by coordinating actions to pressure state and local officials to discard votes cast in cities with large Black populations, President Trump, his campaign, and the RNC, have undermined our most sacred constitutional values," said Sam Spital, Director of Litigation for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, in a Statement. "With this suit, we seek to vindicate our clients' rights and prevent future attacks on the fabric of our democracy."

Trump's Attorneys and the RNC will have about 21 days to File their Responses to this New Complaint.

Last month, after the Initial Lawsuit was Filed, a Trump Campaign Legal Adviser said, "Every American deserves to know that our elections are conducted in a legal manner, no matter who they are or where they live. That's our only goal: to ensure safe, secure, and fair elections. That's what our Constitution requires."