Five members of the Proud Boys, a far-right group involved in the January 6 Capitol riot, are suing the U.S. government. This comes after former President Donald Trump pardoned them for their actions during the riot. Now, they’re claiming that the government abused the legal system to punish Trump’s supporters and violated their constitutional rights.
They want $100 million in damages and say their punishment was extreme, comparing it to putting enemies’ heads on spikes as a warning. Their lawsuit puts Trump’s administration in a difficult position: they must either back the Biden administration’s prosecutions (which Trump already overruled with pardons) or agree to pay the men with taxpayer money.
One of the men suing is Enrique Tarrio, the Proud Boys leader, who got the longest sentence so far 22 years for helping plan the riot. At a press conference, Tarrio said this lawsuit gives Trump’s current attorney general, Pam Bondi, a chance to fix what he calls the mistakes of the Biden administration. He also said they believe in Trump’s decisions and trust that he doesn’t make mistakes.
The other men suing include Ethan Nordean, Joe Biggs, and Zachary Rehl. They led the attack when Tarrio wasn’t allowed in D.C. because of a prior arrest. They received prison sentences of 18, 17, and 15 years. The fifth man, Dominic Pezzola, was filmed smashing a Capitol window with a police shield. He got 10 years.
The lawsuit also claims the men were mistreated in prison, including being kept in dirty, solitary cells and denied visits from their families and lawyers. When Trump pardoned them, he called them “hostages.”
The White House hasn’t commented on the lawsuit yet. The complaint refers to the Proud Boys as a group of patriotic young men.
Interestingly, on the same day this lawsuit was filed, a former D.C. police intelligence official, Shane Lamond, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for leaking information to Tarrio before the Capitol riot.
