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 Molly Shah, Kashiya Nwanguma and Henry Brousseau filed the lawsuit
on Thursday in Jefferson Circuit Court in Louisville, claiming that
Trump's repeated calls of "get them out" at a rally at the Kentucky
International Convention Center on March 1 was intended to direct
his supporters to "use unwanted, harmful physical force to remove
protesters, including the plaintiffs."
The lawsuit also names as defendants the Trump campaign and three
individuals who the plaintiffs claim assaulted them at the rally.
The three plaintiffs, all Louisville residents, claim they suffered
physical injuries, emotional distress and humiliation, and are
seeking unspecified damages, according to the lawsuit.
"Peaceful protest is an American tradition, especially in the
context of presidential politics," Dan Canon, the attorney for the
plaintiffs, told Reuters in a Twitter message. "But what you see all
over the country, time and time again, is violence employed against
protesters at Trump campaign events. These plaintiffs are saying
'enough is enough,'"
 The lawsuit said Trump stopped his 30-minute speech five times to
point out protesters and, in most cases, told supporters to "get 'em
out of here," according to the lawsuit.
A spokeswoman for Trump's campaign could not be reached for comment.
The lawsuit claims that Trump "incited a riot as defined under the
Kentucky penal code."
The individuals named as defendants are Matthew Heimbach, described
in the complaint as a Trump supporter and Ohio resident who is
"affiliated with the Traditionalist Worker Party, a recognized hate
group"; Alvin Bamberger, 75, described as a Trump supporter and an
Ohio resident; and an unknown female. According to the lawsuit, at
the rally, Heimbach, who was wearing a Traditionalist Worker Party
T-shirt, attacked Shah and Nwanguma. A spokesman for the Traditional
Worker Party could not be reached.
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A website for the Traditionalist Worker Party describes it as a
grassroots political organization that believes, among other things,
that "European-American identity is under constant attack."
The Southern Poverty Law Center, a non-profit organization that
monitors groups it considers extremist, classifies the
Traditionalist Worker Party as a white nationalist hate group.
According to the lawsuit, Nwanguma was assaulted by numerous
protesters at the rally, of whom Heimbach and Bamberger were the
most aggressive. Video of Nwanguma, a 21-year-old college student,
being repeatedly pushed at the convention went viral after the
rally, the lawsuit said.
Bamberger could not be reached immediately for comment.
The lawsuit also claims that Shah was assaulted by Heimbach and that
Brousseau was assaulted by the unknown female defendant.
(Reporting by Steve Bittenbender; Editing by Ben Klayman and Leslie
Adler)
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reserved.]
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