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| - So who is Ricky? A person using that name in Florida last month accepted the delivery of a lawsuit targeting former US president Donald Trump. The Daily Beast website reported on Tuesday that even Trump's lawyers have been left wondering who the mysterious "Ricky" from the signature is. A Democratic member of Congress, Representative Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, filed a civil suit against Trump on February 16 for his role in the January 6 attack on the US Capitol by his supporters. The suit cites a little-used 1871 law, the Ku Klux Klan Act, designed to prevent the white supremacist group from intimidating elected officials. Jesse Binnall, a lawyer for the former president, said in a court filing that an attempt to serve Trump with the suit was made by certified mail on February 23. "That parcel was signed for by an unknown individual identified only as 'Ricky,'" Binnall said, which delayed Trump himself actually receiving the papers. Despite the mystery over the delivery, the two sides agreed to focus on the "substantive disputes at hand" and give Trump more time to respond to the suit. He has until April 26 to reply. Another Democratic congressman, Representative Eric Swalwell of California, has also filed a lawsuit against Trump for allegedly inciting his supporters to storm the Capitol. Trump was impeached by the Democratic-majority House of Representatives for his role in inciting the attack on Congress but acquitted by the Senate. chp-cl/caw
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