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Proud Boys leaders sue Trump administration for $100M

ALSO READ: 'Like being in a gang': the Jan. 6 rioter who left MAGA and told Trump to shove his pardon

Proud Boys leaders sue Trump administration for $100M
Henry "Enrique" Tarrio, former national chairman of the Proud Boys who was sentenced to 22 years, talks to the media following his release from prison after U.S. President Donald Trump made a sweeping pardon of those charged in the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, in Miami, Florida, U.S. January 24, 2025. REUTERS/Eva Marie Uzcategui

Five leaders of the far-right paramilitary group the Proud Boys filed a $100 million lawsuit against the federal government on Friday, claiming violations of their civil rights.

Four of those leaders, Enrique Tarrio, Zachary Rehl, Ethan Nordean, and Joe Biggs were convicted of seditious conspiracy for their involvement in the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol to try to block certification of President Donald Trump's 2020 election loss. The fifth, Dominic Pezzola, was acquitted of seditious conspiracy but convicted on other serious felonies.

Trump commuted their sentences the same day he was sworn into the White House, as part of his clemency for almost 1,600 January 6 rioters.

But that clemency isn't enough for the Proud Boys officials, whose so-called "Western Chauvinist" group is infamous for their political street brawls. They want compensation for what they claim to be illegal mistreatment.

"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," stated the lawsuit. "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."

"Now that the Plaintiffs are vindicated, free, and able to once again exercise their rights as American citizens, they bring this action against their tormentors for violations of their Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendment Rights," the suit continued.

It remains unclear what, if any, evidence the Proud Boys could bring in support of these claims. However, it is also possible that Trump or Attorney General Pam Bondi could simply order the Justice Department to reach a settlement and pay out some fraction of that $100 million at taxpayer expense without a judgment being rendered at trial; this same approach was taken with the lawsuit brought by the family of Ashli Babbitt, the January 6 rioter who was fatally shot by Capitol Police while trying to force her way into an area where members of Congress were evacuating.

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'Oops': Expert says FBI's 'irresponsible' move will 'undoubtedly fuel' conspiracy theories

Former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance slammed the FBI Thursday for its ongoing manhunt for Charlie Kirk’s killer, arguing that the entire investigation had become ‘politicized’ under the thumb of the Trump administration.

“We saw tweets instead of press conferences and faulty information presented as fact,” wrote Vance, who previously served as U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, on her Substack “Civil Discourse.” “Instead of serving as the credible source for reliable updates that tamps down on conspiracy theories, this irresponsible action will undoubtedly fuel them.”

Kirk was killed Wednesday at Utah Valley University in an incident that drew international media attention and bi-partisan condemnation. His killer, however, remains on the loose two days later, with the FBI’s ongoing investigation already having produced several blunders.

“[Wednesday], the FBI director announced there was a suspect in custody; then, oops, it turned out that it wasn’t the guy, and he had to walk it back,” Vance wrote. “[Thursday], a [Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives] agent told a right-wing influencer the shooter’s ammunition was engraved with pro-transgender sentiments, but officials are now saying that ‘could’ be wrong.”

The problem, Vance argued, was that under President Donald Trump, the ongoing investigation had been consumed by the “politics of the moment,” directly contrasting Trump and his allies’ response to Kirk’s killing with past instances of political violence, such as the recent killing of a Minnesota Democratic lawmaker, or the attack on Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s husband, the latter of which “Republicans made jokes” about, including Trump himself.

The “politicizing” of the FBI’s investigation had other fallouts as well, Vance argued, and she pondered whether loyalty to Trump may hamper the investigation further.

“Will investigators be ordered only to follow leads that confirm the president’s narrative about who the shooter is?” she wrote. “Will investigators be afraid to follow the facts, having seen how easily agents who were doing their jobs but ran afoul of Trump can be fired?”

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'Mickey Mouse operation': Furious Kash Patel reamed aides in profanity-filled meeting

Under pressure from the White House and from the MAGA base, a furious Kash Patel lashed out at his aides on Thursday over the slow pace of the Charlie Kirk murder investigation during a tense meeting at FBI headquarters, the New York Times is reporting.

With scrutiny increasing on an investigation that appears to be spinning its wheels and has been hamstrung by blunders, the FBI director and his deputy Dan Bongino, are both pointing the finger at their subordinates, with Patel calling what has transpired a “Mickey Mouse operation” when he was not swearing at them.

According to the Times’ Glenn Thrush, Devlin Barrett and Adam Goldman, Patel and Bongino “... made it clear they were under intense pressure to catch the killer of Mr. Kirk. They expressed themselves with such fierce urgency that, in the view of some participants, it hinted at another motive: to prove they were up to the task.”

Patel is already being second-guessed after taking to X and boasting about suspects in the murder of the far-right activist who have been taken into custody, only to have to swiftly walk those back sometimes within an hour.

Noting that Patel and Bongino hopped on a plane and flew to the scene of the crime on Thursday, with Patel appearing at a delayed press conference, the Times is reporting that Patel was particularly incensed “that agents in Salt Lake City waited nearly 12 hours to show him a photo of the suspected killer, according to three people familiar on the exchange.”

“Whether Mr. Patel can overcome his embarrassing early stumble in posts online about the Kirk investigation remains to be seen,” the Times is reporting before adding, “It was highly unusual for the director of the F.B.I., known for its button-down messaging and a longstanding reluctance to compromise investigations by freely sharing information with the public.”

You can read more here.

'Stephen King is a bitter man': Horror icon faces lawsuit threat over Charlie Kirk comment

Horror icon Stephen King is being threatened with a lawsuit after a comment made about the late commentator Charlie Kirk.

Kirk was assassinated while doing a debate event at a Utah school, and authorities are still searching for the killer.

King first made headlines immediately after the Kirk shooting, when he said, "The motivation of the man who shot Charlie Kirk isn't clear (although he's probably mentally unstable--duh). What is clear is it was another example of American gun violence."

But King didn't stop there. He later doubled down with a post on his social media that said of Kirk, "He advocated stoning gays to death. Just sayin’."

That led to outrage from some in MAGA, including GOP lawmaker Mike Lee. He wrote on X, "Please share if you agree that the estate of Charlie Kirk should sue Stephen King for defamation over this heinously false accusation."

"He’s crossed a line It will prove costly," Lee then added.

Fox News host Laura Ingraham responded to that, saying only, "Stephen King is a sad, bitter man."

Conservative influencer Paul A. Szypula claimed that, "Stephen King is defaming the memory of Charlie Kirk."

"King wrongly claims Kirk advocated for violence towards gay people. The clip King is referring to actually shows Kirk illustrating how some people cherry-pick passages from the Bible. Shame on King. He should apologize," the influencer wrote.

In an unrelated post, King also targeted the killer of Kirk, writing simply, "Lee Harvey Oswald, James Earl Ray, and the murderer of Charlie Kirk: Cowards who shot from ambush."

Ted Cruz also weighed in, writing, "You are a horrible, evil, twisted liar. No, he did not. Your party—which you shamelessly shilled for—sent $100 billion to the Ayatollah… who does routinely murder homosexuals. Why are you so dishonest & filled with hate?"

Kirk did indeed once say that it was "God's perfect law" to have homosexual men stoned to death.

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