‘A direct and proximate result’: Accused Jan. 6 rioters who teamed up to injure Capitol police officer that died by suicide days later still on the hook for wrongful death lawsuit

Background: Taylor Taranto and Dr. David Walls-Kaufman inside the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 attack (Department of Justice). Left inset: Capitol Police Officer Jeffrey Smith (Jack Reznicki). Right inset: Donald Trump speaks after meeting with members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters at their headquarters on Jan. 31, 2024, in Washington (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik).

Background: Taylor Taranto and Dr. David Walls-Kaufman inside the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 attack (Department of Justice). Left inset: Capitol Police Officer Jeffrey Smith (Jack Reznicki). Right inset: Donald Trump speaks after meeting with members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters at their headquarters on Jan. 31, 2024, in Washington (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik).

President Donald Trump may have criminally absolved Jan. 6 participants through pardons, commutations and dismissals this week, but that doesn’t erase the civil lawsuits that are currently pending against several rioters.

Defendants Taylor Taranto and Dr. David Walls-Kaufman, for instance, of Washington state, are both still facing wrongful death lawsuits for attacking a Capitol Police officer who shot and killed himself after suffering from “severe depression” and a “brain injury” caused by a concussion he allegedly sustained at their hands.

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