A group of Proud Boys leaders convicted of orchestrating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot filed a lawsuit against the federal government on Friday, alleging the prosecutions violated their constitutional rights and amounted to political retaliation.
The lawsuit, filed Friday in federal court in Florida, seeks $100 million in punitive damages and names Justice Department officials and FBI employees as defendants. It follows President Donald Trump’s sweeping pardons of most Jan. 6 defendants on his first day back in office.
The five plaintiffs — Enrique Tarrio, Ethan Nordean, Zachary Rehl, Joe Biggs, and Dominic Pezzola — were convicted in 2023 after a high-profile trial in Washington, D.C., that accused them of plotting to block certification of the 2020 election and keep Trump in power. Four of the men were found guilty of seditious conspiracy, while Pezzola was convicted of other serious felonies.
Now, they are arguing that the federal government conducted a “political prosecution” based on personal animus and an intent to silence pro-Trump voices.
“What follows is a parade of horribles: egregious and systemic abuse of the legal system and the United States Constitution to punish and oppress political allies of President Trump, by any and all means necessary, legal, or illegal,” the 28-page complaint said.
The lawsuit could place Trump’s DOJ in the position of either defending the prior administration’s largest criminal dragnet or paying restitution to some of the most infamous figures from the Capitol riot.
The Proud Boys, a self-described group of “Western chauvinists,” became nationally known after violent clashes with left-wing protesters and Trump’s 2020 debate remark that they should “stand back and stand by.” The group splintered following Jan. 6 but has reportedly regained momentum in the wake of Trump’s 2024 victory.
The suit alleges a broad range of constitutional violations, including warrantless home raids, violations of attorney-client privilege, and the use of a confidential FBI informant embedded in the Proud Boys’s legal team. Defense lawyers raised concerns about the informant during the trial, but the judge allowed proceedings to continue, finding no wrongdoing by prosecutors.
One of the key claims involves a document titled 1776 Returns, which prosecutors cited as evidence of a seditious plot. The suit alleges the document was planted in Tarrio’s inbox and was never read or shared by him.
Tarrio, who received a 22-year sentence — the longest of any Jan. 6 defendant — said in an interview that attorneys are now more willing to take on these cases.
“We were able to shop,” he told the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the lawsuit Friday. “I believe attorneys are going to do backflips trying to get J6ers on board with a lot of lawsuits.”
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The plaintiffs are represented by Thomas F. Ranieri, a Virginia-based attorney, and Augustus Invictus, a right-wing political activist and lawyer in Florida.
Earlier this year, Trump’s DOJ reversed course and settled a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the family of Ashli Babbitt, a Trump supporter who was fatally shot during the Capitol riot, signaling a broader legal shift in the post-Biden era.
