5 Proud Boys sue US government over Jan. 6 prosecutions
[June 07, 2025]
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — 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. |
Former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio is flanked by Dominic Pezzola,
left, and Joseph Biggs, right, at a news conference outside the U.S.
Capitol in Washington, Feb. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite,
File) |
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“There was hostages in this country,” Tarrio said during a news
conference Friday afternoon. “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.”
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.
The U.S. Justice Department didn't immediately respond to a
message seeking comment.
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