Proud Boys Sue Justice Dept. for $100M Over Jan. 6 Capitol Riot Prosecutions

ORLANDO, Fla. — Five leaders of the Proud Boys are suing the U.S. government over what they describe as politically motivated prosecutions for their participation in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol.

Each of them was convicted on criminal charges for trying to violently overturn former President Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election.

President Donald Trump pardoned them or commuted their sentences earlier this year. 

Now they want compensation.

They claim $100 million apiece in damages for what their lawsuit says was a Justice Department effort “to punish and oppress political allies” of Trump.

“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,” says the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Orlando, Florida.

The lawsuit was filed against the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Justice Department by Enrique Tarrio, the former national leader of the far-right Proud Boys group, along with fellow Proud Boys members Zachary Rehl, Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs and Dominic Pezzola.

Tarrio was sentenced to 22 years in prison on multiple charges for his role in organizing the Jan. 6 insurrection. The other four were convicted of seditious conspiracy and given less but also lengthy prison terms.

Part of the damages claim alleges their homes were raided by the FBI without probable cause to believe they committed crimes, their attorneys were spied on as they prepared a defense and they were held in solitary confinement beyond anything that could be justified under the law.

They continue to argue their innocence despite the evidence that was used to convict them.

“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 says.

Their legal claims face big obstacles, both political and based on federal court precedents.

They claim damages similar to many of the roughly 1,500 other insurrectionists the Justice Department has arrested. A ruling for Tarrio and his co-defendants could open the doors for all others to sue.

Trump referred to the rioters who were arrested as “hostages” in his order in January that granted them pardons or sentence commutations.

“This proclamation ends a grave national injustice that has been perpetrated upon the American people over the last four years and begins a process of national reconciliation,” the order said.

Whether Trump’s admission of a “grave national injustice” is enough evidence for the Proud Boys to wage a successful lawsuit is a different question.

Their lawsuit is based in part on a Bivens claim, which refers to a 1971 Supreme Court ruling that established the right of individuals to sue federal officials for constitutional rights violations.

The Supreme Court has upheld the ruling only three times since 1971. Other times, the court said Congress must determine whether the plaintiffs have a right to compensation.

Another part of the lawsuit claims a right to compensation for malicious prosecution under the Federal Tort Claims Act. The law authorizes private citizens to sue the U.S. government for damages or injuries wrongfully inflicted by federal officials.

In their defense, government officials have typically claimed they cannot be sued successfully because of the qualified immunity from liability granted under federal law. The only way to win a lawsuit despite the qualified immunity doctrine is to prove government officials violated “clearly established statutory or constitutional rights.”

The doctrine generally has been upheld by federal courts, most recently in the 2022 case of a lawsuit against the city of Parma, Ohio, by a man who was prosecuted after posting a parody of the local police on Facebook.

You can reach us at [email protected] and follow us on Facebook and X