Jan. 6 protester claims in federal lawsuit that D.C. police beat her

Victoria White filed a federal lawsuit against the Washington, D.C., police department claiming assault, battery and excessive force after officers allegedly beat her in the West Terrace tunnel of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and initially sought $1 million in damages, The Epoch Times reports.

Her attorney Joseph McBride points to three hours of surveillance footage from Jan. 6 released last month that allegedly shows White was pushed into the tunnel after she told the crowd not to enter the Capitol. Video reportedly shows White being hit by officers with batons and fists about 40 times over four minutes.

Epoch reports that McBride said he believes a Metro D.C. police supervisor is the officer in a white shirt on video was particularly violent and targeted White's head and face with a steel baton and punches. The officer is labeled in the lawsuit as Officer John Doe 1. 

The lawsuit seeks damages from D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Department and seven officers "with a dollar amount significantly higher than the preliminary ask of one million dollars," McBride said. The suit alleges "unreasonable seizure/excessive force and violations of Due Process" and claims including negligence, assault, battery, and emotional distress.

McBride said his client is a survivor of physical and verbal domestic abuse. 

"Years of healing and progress were literally beaten out of her by the police on January 6th," McBride said in a statement. "The scars and trauma related to past abuse were torn open again. A multitude of preexisting repetitive trauma injuries [were] aggravated to the point where she can never fully recover."

White said during an interview with Newsmax that she expected Jan. 6 to "just be another Trump rally." 

“Nothing will ever right the wrong committed against Ms. White, but making sure that she is compensated for the egregious injuries that she suffered on January 6, 2021, is certainly a start,” McBride said.