The four plaintiffs were among the 1,500 people pardoned by President Donald Trump for their role in attacking and vandalizing the Capitol.
Five members of the Proud Boys have filed a lawsuit against the federal government, claiming that their constitutional rights were violated when they were arrested and prosecuted for their participation in the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
According to The Associated Press, the lawsuit was filed in an Orlando-based federal court. It names plaintiffs including former Proud Boys chairman Enrique Tarrio as well as Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl, Ethan Nordean, and Dominic Pezzola. Together, they are seeking unspecified compensatory damages plus 6% interest and $100 million plus interest and punitive damages.
“There was [sic] hostages in this country,” Tarrio said in a press conference announcing the lawsuit. “It’s not about any other country today, and that’s why this lawsuit is so important to bring back law and order into our system.”
Attorneys for the men say that they were arrested without cause, with government agents later “finding” evidence. They also claim to have been held for years in pretrial detention, with much of that time spent 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 alleges.
Tarrio, Biggs, Rehl, Nordean, and Pezzola were among the 1,500 people pardoned by President Donald Trump for their role in attacking and vandalizing the Capitol.
Tarrio, notes The Associated Press, had been sentenced to serve 22 years in prison—the longest sentence of all five plaintiffs.
“These people have been destroyed,” Trump said shortly 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.”
One of the plaintiffs, Pezzola, was the first rioter to break a window at the Capitol; his act enabled dozens of protesters to enter the building.
“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,” the lawsuit says.
Though many lawmakers, including former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, have condemned January 6 as a shameful moment in the country’s history, Trump has since recast it as a “day of live.”
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, whose office was vandalized and looted during the riots, has also called the pardons “an outrageous insult to our justice system.”
Sources
Proud Boys members suing Justice Department for January 6 prosecutions
Proud Boys sue US government for $100m over Jan 6 prosecutions
