A federal judge has rejected former U.S. President Donald Trump's effort to dismiss multiple lawsuits accusing him of bearing legal responsibility for the violent January 6 attack on the Capitol.

In a lengthy written ruling, Judge Amit Mehta of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia said three lawsuits by Democratic members of Congress and two police officers could proceed toward trial.

Trump's words during a rally before the violent storming of the U.S. Capitol were likely "words of incitement not protected by the First Amendment," Mehta said in his ruling.