Voter sues Donald Trump for $1 billion due to 'severe emotional distress' caused by presidential campaign

Louis Tafuto says Donald Trump is 'wholly untruthful and therefore unqualified and incapable of taking an oath of office'

President-elect Donald Trump may have to appear in court before he is officially sworn in in January (Getty)

A registered Republican voter from New York is attempting to sue Donald Trump for $1 billion, arguing the president-elect’s campaign caused him “severe emotional distress”.

Louis Tafuto from Warwick, New York state, submitted a lawsuit to the Southern District Court seeking considerable damages and naming Mr Trump, vice-president elect Mike Pence and the Republican National Committee.

In the 25-page lawsuit, Mr Tafuto accuses Mr Trump of being “wholly untruthful and therefore unqualified and incapable of taking an oath of office”.

He claims the president-elect “did knowingly and willingly engage in a large scale strategic effort to target, coerce and intimidate the vulnerable demographic groups of the under-educated electorate into falsely believing their personal safety, their family, their children, their property, their lives and their country were in grave danger under the Presidency of any of his opponents”.

Mr Trump’s words show “he does not have the temperament, knowledge or political belief to adhere to the principles of the U.S Constitution” and “threatens the core of the democratic way of life”, according to the lawsuit seen by the Times Herald-Record.

Mr Tafuto meanwhile said he has personally suffered “great emotional pain, fear and anxiety on Election Day and beyond” at the hands of Mr Trump and his associates.

As well as the $1 billion compensation, Mr Tafuto is seeking an “order of protection against the defendants from making further false statements that incite violence, revolt, assassination, or insurrection”.

The lawsuit also accuses Trump of violating the First Amendment which guarantees freedom of religion, due to the president-elect’s previous statements about Muslims.

Mr Trump has accused the media of "inciting" a series of protests against his election victory in New York, Chicago and Portland, as demonstrations continue days after the shock result.

It was reported Mr Trump will become the first president-elect in US history to appear in court to defend himself, against allegations of defrauding former students of his now-closed Trump University.