Congresswoman Escobar joins lawsuit against Trump and Proud Boys over U.S. Capitol riot

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- El Paso Democratic Congresswoman Veronica Escobar on Wednesday joined a group of lawmakers in an NAACP lawsuit that seeks damages from former President Donald Trump and the extremist group Proud Boys for allegedly inciting the U.S. Capitol riot, the Dallas Morning News reported.

Escobar claims she has "violent nightmares" and suffers from insomnia as as result of the Jan. 6 siege that temporarily kept Congress from certifying Joe Biden's presidency, according to DMN.

The lawsuit is brought in federal court in Washington under a provision of a Reconstruction-era law called the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, which was passed in response to KKK violence and prohibits violence or intimidation meant to prevent Congress or other federal officials from carrying out their constitutional duties.

In an interview with ABC-7 in January, Escobar recounted how she feared death while sheltering-in-place with U.S. House colleagues as the group of violent protesters forced their way into the Capitol.

 "I thought there would be a mass shooter… shoot us all up," she said at the time.