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Yahoo
7 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Proud Boys who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 sue government for $100 million
WASHINGTON – Five members of the right-wing extremist group the Proud Boys who stormed the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection and were later pardoned by President Donald Trump are suing the government for more than $100 million. They allege the Justice Department and FBI violated their constitutional rights after arresting and jailing them for their participation in the effort to stop Congress from certifying former President Joe Biden's election victory in 2020. The Proud Boys and their families were subjected to forceful government raids, solitary confinement and cruel and unusual treatment, they argue in their lawsuit, which seeks $100 million in damages plus 6% post-judgment interest. The group, which filed the lawsuit June 6 in a federal court in Florida, includes Henry 'Enrique' Tarrio, Zachary Rehl, Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs and Dominic Pezzola. In 2023, a jury convicted Tarrio, Rehl, Nordean and Biggs of entering a seditious conspiracy against the U.S. government. In several trials, each of the leaders of the group had been issued lengthy prison sentences, ranging from 22 to 15 years. On the first day of his return office in 2025, President Trump issued a sweeping clemency order, granting pardons to almost all of the more than 1,500 defendants who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 and issuing sentence commutations to 14 others. In interviews with USA TODAY in February, most of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit defended their actions on Jan. 6 and said unequivocally they would do the same thing again. Some, including Tarrio and Rehl, hinted at the possibility of running for public office in the future. Read more: Sheriff? Congress? Criminal Justice reformer? Freed Proud Boys leaders have big plans 'I am an intelligent individual, and I've done a lot in the community as far as activism is concerned," Rehl said. "So, I'm experienced in that respect, and I believe I can really represent the people in a good way.' Contributing: Reuters Zachary Schermele is an education reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach him by email at zschermele@ Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele and Bluesky at @ This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Proud Boys who stormed Capitol sue government for $100 million
BBC News
06-06-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Proud Boys sue US government for $100m over Jan 6 prosecutions
Five leaders of far-right group the Proud Boys, who were convicted in connection to the 6 January, 2021 Capitol riot, have sued the US government for $100 million (£74m), claiming that their rights were violated during their five were convicted of plotting and taking part in the riot to overturn President Donald Trump's loss in the 2020 election. Trump pardoned or commuted their sentences earlier this lawsuit, filed in Florida on Friday, claims FBI agents and prosecutors were motivated by personal biases when prosecuting their cases. They argue their constitutional rights were trampled on "to punish and oppress political allies" of Trump. The lawsuit was filed by Henry "Enrique" Tarrio, Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl and Dominic Pezzola. Tarrio was found guilty of plotting the 2021 attack on the US Capitol, which happened as lawmakers were certifying former President Joe Biden's 2020 election victory. He was sentenced to 22 years in prison, the longest out of the was formally convicted of seditious conspiracy, a rarely used charge of planning to overthrow the government, and multiple other other four leaders faced similar charges, and were also sentenced to time behind convictions were overturned by Trump, who issued approximately 1,500 pardons of people involved in the Capitol riot in January, on the day of his inauguration. "These people have been destroyed," Trump said after signing their pardons. "What they've done to these people is outrageous. There's rarely been anything like it in the history of our country."The lawsuit filed on Friday alleges the five leaders of the Proud Boys were subject to "egregious and systemic abuse of the legal system". It accuses prosecutors of engaging in instances of "evidence tampering" and "witness intimidation".It also alleges that their prosecution was "corrupt and politically motivated." The lawsuit was filed against the Department of Justice, which is currently operating under the Trump administration and is run by Attorney General Pam BBC has reached out to the Justice Department for to figures released by the department in January, approximately 1,583 defendants have been charged with crimes associated with the Capitol than 600 were charged with assaulting, resisting or obstructing law enforcement, including around 175 charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to an Police officers were attacked by rioters with weapons including metal batons, wooden planks, flagpoles, fire extinguishers and pepper lawmakers had condemned the riot, while Trump has described it as a "day of love". His pardons of those convicted have been criticised by Democratic lawmakers as an attempt to re-write history. Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who was among the lawmakers forced to flee during the riot, called the pardons "an outrageous insult to our justice system".
Fox News
06-06-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Proud Boys members file federal lawsuit over 'illegal' tactics in Jan. 6 prosecutions
Five members of the Proud Boys are suing the U.S. government and certain employees in the FBI and Department of Justice for $100 million over their Jan. 6 prosecutions. Enrique Tarrio, Zachary Rehl, Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs and Dominic Pezzola allege in the lawsuit the FBI and DOJ violated their constitutional rights with their prosecution over what prosecutors said was their planning of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. In a document filed in a Florida federal court and obtained by Fox News Digital, the men claim "egregious and systemic abuse of the legal system and the United States Constitution to punish and oppress political allies of President Trump, by any and all means necessary, legal, or illegal. "Through the use of evidence tampering, witness intimidation, violations of attorney-client privilege, and placing spies to report on trial strategy, the government got its fondest wish of imprisoning the J6 Defendants, the modern equivalent of placing one's enemies' heads on a spike outside the town wall as a warning to any who would think to challenge the status quo." Fox News Digital has reached out to the U.S. Department of Justice for comment. Four of the five men were convicted of seditious conspiracy after the attack, and Tarrio faced the harshest punishment — 22 years for planning the attack — of any of the Jan. 6 defendants, according to The Wall Street Journal. Nordean was sentenced to 18 years, Biggs was sentenced to 17 years and Rehl was sentenced to 15 years. Pezzola was found guilty of conspiracy to obstruct Congress and sentenced to 10 years in prison. However, President Donald Trump pardoned or commuted the sentences of nearly all the defendants after he took office this year, including Tarrio, Rehl, Nordean, Biggs and Pezzola. All the men except Tarrio were at the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6, according to the Journal. Tarrio had been barred from entering Washington, D.C., because of a previous arrest, The Washington Post reported. "Now that the Plaintiffs are vindicated, free, and able to once again exercise their rights as American citizens, they bring this action against their tormentors for violations of their Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendment Rights … as well as the common law tort of malicious prosecution and false imprisonment," the suit adds. Prosecutors said Pezzola was seen on video using a police riot shield to commit the first breach of the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6. Prosecutors alleged the men were charged under a "novel theory of criminal conspiracy called the 'tool theory,'" according to the suit. "Despite the legal jiggery-pokery employed by the government to obscure the fact, the Plaintiffs were essentially convicted of 'stochastic terrorism,' a leftist bugbear used to describe rhetoric offensive to them that they claim provokes violent acts." The men also claimed in the lawsuit that the government didn't have probable cause to raid their homes.
The Independent
06-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Five Proud Boys leaders sue DOJ for $100 million over their Jan 6 prosecution
Five Proud Boys leaders who were convicted of spearheading the January 6 Capitol riot are suing the federal government and claiming that their constitutional rights were violated. The lawsuit, which was filed on Friday in a federal court in Florida, is seeking $100 million in restitution and comes after President Donald Trump pardoned almost all of the January 6 defendants on the first day of his second term, The Hill reports. The five men bringing the suit are Enrique Tarrio, Ethan Nordean, Zachary Rehl, Joe Biggs and Dominic Pezzola. Four of the men were convicted on charges of seditious conspiracy. Pezzola was acquitted but was convicted on other felonies associated with the infamous riot. They are claiming that "political prosecution" violated their constitutional rights. 'What follows is a parade of horribles: egregious and systemic abuse of the legal system and the United States Constitution to punish and oppress political allies of President Trump, by any and all means necessary, legal, or illegal,' their lawsuit alleges. In the filing, the Proud Boys accuse the FBI of using paid informants to spy on their defense team, allege they were denied bail, and claim that federal agents had altered what they say was exculpatory evidence relevant to their defense, according to the New York Times. The lawsuit will force the Department of Justice under Trump to either defend its prosecution of Capitol rioters or offer a payout to the right-wing gang members. Ed Martin, who is now the Justice Department's pardon attorney, has said he believes that the Capitol riot convicts deserve compensation for what he claimed was mistreatment by the federal government. Tarrio was sentenced to 22 years in prison, the longest for any January 6 defendant before he was pardoned by Trump. The Proud Boys' lawsuit cites Trump's pardon in its language, arguing that it sought to "end a grave national injustice that has been perpetrated upon the American people over the last four years."
The Independent
06-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
5 Proud Boys sue US government over Jan. 6 prosecutions
Five members of the Proud Boys, a far-right militant group, claim their constitutional rights were violated when they were prosecuted for their participation in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, according to a lawsuit filed Friday. The lawsuit was filed in Orlando federal court by former Proud Boys chairman Enrique Tarrio, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl, Ethan Nordean and Dominic Pezzola. It seeks unspecified compensatory damages plus 6% interest and $100 million plus interest in punitive damages. The lawsuit claims the men were arrested with insufficient probable cause and that government agents later 'found' fake incriminating evidence. They also claim they were held for years in pretrial detention, often in solitary confinement. 'The Plaintiffs themselves did not obstruct the proceedings at the Capitol, destroy government property, resist arrest, conspire to impede the police, or participate in civil disorder, nor did they plan for or order anyone else to do so," the lawsuit said. Tarrio, Biggs, Rehl and Nordean were all convicted of seditious conspiracy and other crimes for their participation in the Capitol riot that sought to stop Congress from certifying former U.S. President Joe Biden's win over President Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election. Pezzola was acquitted on the conspiracy charge but convicted of stealing a police officer's riot shield and using it to smash a window. After returning to office earlier this year, Trump granted pardons to almost all of the more than 1,500 people who stormed the Capitol. While Tarrio received a pardon, the other four plaintiffs had their sentences commuted. The lawsuit said all four applied for pardons on May 13.
