Pardon Tracker: Proud Boys File Lawsuit Demanding $100 Million for 'Violations of Their Constitutional Rights'
Five members of the Proud Boys that participated in the Capitol Riot, filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government for more than $100 million for 'multiple violations of their constitutional rights.'
Five members of the Proud Boys that participated in the Capitol Riot, filed a lawsuit in federal court “against the U.S. government for more than $100 million,” which puts the Trump Administration in the position to either “defend the sweeping Jan. 6 prosecution or potentially pay out millions to the right-wing leaders convicted of spearheading the attack.”
Enrique Tarrio, Zachary Rehl, Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs and Dominic Pezzola are named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
The Trump Administration reportedly agreed to “pay a $4.975 million settlement in the lawsuit over the wrongful death of Ashli Babbitt, who was killed by a U.S. Capitol Police officer after storming the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.”
Stewart Rhodes, the founder of the far right militia the Oath Keepers, said during a podcast that President Donald Trump should "revitalize the militia," by calling up military veterans: “Call us all up as the militia, and order us to organize into county militias. Order us veterans to take lead in the counties to train all the other men, form us into county units across the country. Then deploy us to the border for some on the job training. He can do that right now.”
There are now at least 15 pardoned Capitol Rioters that have been arrested or faced additional criminal charges since receiving pardons. Zachary Jordan Alam, sentenced to 8-years in prison for participating in the Capitol Riot, was recently arrested for “allegedly breaking into a home in Henrico County and stealing personal items.”
U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Varlan has denied a pardoned Capitol Rioter’s “request to end his punishment for a weapons conviction after getting a presidential pardon for his role in the U.S. Capitol riot.” Varlan ruled that Clifford Meteer’s “gun case isn't closely enough related to what happened in Washington, D.C., in 2021.”
Maryland U.S. District Court Chief Judge James Bredar ordered that Elias Costianes must be released, despite ruling last month that the pardoned Capitol Rioters “could not be set free under President Donald Trump‘s mass pardon for insurrectionists, because the pardon did not apply to his firearms conviction.”
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a “anonymity request from current and former Seattle police officers fighting a public records request that would reveal information about their presence at a rally for President Donald Trump” with immediately preceded the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Some states and local governments are seeking to prohibit pardoned Capitol Rioters from government employment. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued an “ordered that no one involved in the attack on the U.S. Capitol is to be hired by the state,” and at least three other states have reportedly “mulled similar measures.”
Pardon Tracker is part of independent investigative journalism and data visualization project, investigating the pardons and commutations for individuals involved in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Media Coverage of Pardoned Capitol Rioters:
Trump Suddenly Cares About ‘Insurrectionists’ and Protecting Cops [Rolling Stone]
Trump's Crackdown on LA Protests Contrasts With His Jan. 6 Response [The New York Times]
Jan. 6 riot victims, Democrats see hypocrisy in Trump's response to L.A. protests [CBS News]
Jan. 6 attack gets in the way of Republican talking points on ICE protests [MSNBC]
Trump pardons criminals with MAGA credentials or big money [Axios]
Supreme Court snubs Seattle cops seeking anonymity for Jan. 6 rally attendance [Courthouse News Service]
Kash Patel Vows To Reveal Jan. 6 FBI Bombshell That Will ‘Surprise and Shock People’ [Mediaite]
Whitmer spoke with Trump about pardons for kidnap conspirators [The Detroit News]
Trump’s Pardon Attorney Mulls Clemency for Fake Electors—Dead or Alive [Mother Jones]
Report: DOJ pardon attorney has clemency plans for Michigan 2020 GOP false electors [Michigan Advance]
Former Capitol attack prosecutor slams Trump pardons of January 6 defendants [The Guardian]
Top Jan. 6 prosecutor says Trump's Capitol riot pardons signal approval of political violence [NBC News]
Top Jan. 6 prosecutor Greg Rosen resigns from DOJ, says Trump pardons sent "terrible message" [CBS News]
‘Affront to the independence of the department’: Top Jan. 6 prosecutor resigns from DOJ, rips decision to pardon 1,500 riot defendants [Law & Crime]
New Maine law to commemorate Jan. 6 attacks on U.S. Capitol [NPR]
Some judges reject DOJ claim that Jan. 6 pardons apply to other crimes [The Washington Post]
Federal judge denies Jan. 6 riot participant's bid to apply Trump pardon to Knoxville guns case [NBC News]
MD man pardoned after Jan. 6 riot to be released, despite separate gun conviction [The Daily Record]
Some states seek to bar Jan. 6 rioters seeking office after pardons [UPI]
Stewart Rhodes Says Trump Must Pardon Him To Correct The 'False Narrative' About The Jan. 6 Insurrection [Right Wing Watch]
Volusia County Proud Boys leader among extremist group members suing federal government [USA Today]
The Leaders of the Proud Boys Aren’t Satisfied with Pardons for Jan. 6. Now They Want $100 Million [Esquire]
Proud Boys Freed by Trump Sue the Government for $100 Million [Rolling Stone]
Proud Boys lawsuit over Jan. 6 faces steep legal odds, high political cost [The Hill]
Trump administration to pay nearly $5M in wrongful death lawsuit of Jan. 6 rioter shot by police [Politico]
It’s the world upside down! But that’s what pardonning those rioters signaled: that the country has been turned on its head.
Ludicrous!