A complaint filed Thursday in U.S. District Court alleges Democratic Reps. Mike Thompson and Jared Huffman caused moral injury to a class of over 500 California residents by voting for a $26 billion military aid package to Israel.
At a press conference in San Francisco, the plaintiff’s attorney Dean Royer said his clients don’t want their tax dollars spent on killing Palestinian civilians.
“This lawsuit says, ‘No, we don't accept that. We are going to challenge that. You have violated our client's rights to have their tax dollars… be used only for lawful purposes,'” said Royer.
His suit alleges that sending military aid to Israel violates multiple U.S. laws including the Genocide Convention Implementation Act, which bans “complicity in genocide," and the Leahy Law that prohibits support for foreign security forces involved in human rights abuses. The complaint also alleges that using citizen’s tax dollars to support the Israeli military is unconstitutional as the purpose is not for the common defense or general welfare of the country.
Residents from 10 California counties, including Humboldt, Mendocino and Del Norte, are part of the suit. They claim U.S. support for Israel has caused them to suffer symptoms such as “uncontrollable weeping” and the “inability to experience joy.”
A spokesperson for Rep. Thompson said in a statement that “securing the safety of civilians won't be accomplished by filing a lawsuit.” Rep. Huffman did not provide a comment.
The complaint seeks an injunction to prevent Reps. Huffman and Thompson from “providing, facilitating, or coordinating military assistance or financing to Israel that advances Israel’s commission of genocidal acts in Gaza” as well as “compensatory damages.”
