Proud Boys leaders sue Trump administration for $100M

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.

For customer support contact support@rawstory.com. Report typos and corrections to corrections@rawstory.com.

The Department of Justice's website took down a list of President Donald Trump's pardons, only to partially return it after online outcry.

On Tuesday, Democratic political strategist and CNN commentator Xochitl Hinojosa flagged the sudden change in a post on X, noting that "all Trump pardons have been scrubbed" from the DOJ website.

"They're gone....," confirmed MeidasTouch Capitol Hill journalist Scott MacFarlane in a quote post reacting to Hinojosa.

"Corruption in plain sight," declared anti-Trump conservative political group The Lincoln Project.

"CROOKS," exclaimed author Don Winslow.

"Huh. Wonder why they'd not want the American people to be able to access the list of people Trump has pardoned anymore," author Camille MacKenzie sarcastically pondered.

"Trump is trying to hide one or more pardons," suggested legal expert and independent journalist Marcy Wheeler, who runs the "emptywheel" political and legal analysis website. "Did he pardon Ghislaine Maxwell? Is he trying to hide that he pardoned his buddy the sex trafficker?"

"Tell me this administration knows history will judge it harshly without saying it out loud," posted former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance. "This is so on target with the creation, yesterday, of Trump TV so they can feed Americans their skewed versions of reality instead of the truth."

"So now they're trying to hide the pardons from the public...," lamented progressive political analyst Mike Nellis.

"Nothing says 'transparency' like hiding s--," slammed John Collins, who writes the politics Substack "The Collins Chronicle."

"Gee, could it be because he pardoned hundreds of murderers, pedophiles, and rapists who beat cops on January 6th?" wondered Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA).

"Trump can't erase history," asserted Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO). "He pardoned 1,500 cop-beaters & convicted felons who attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6th. He sold pardons to convicted drug dealers and criminals. The President will be held accountable for his corruption."

The DOJ Rapid Response account responded to Hinojosa's post by saying what she saw "was due to a technical issue and it was promptly fixed. The page has been restored."

Hinojosa noted, "They reinstated parts of it after this tweet," but she maintained, "No, it wasn't just a 'website error' on their end."

THANKS FOR SUBSCRIBING! ALL ADS REMOVED!

A Republican senator appeared to catch his colleagues off guard with a demand to haul Donald Trump Jr. before Congress over a lavish wedding celebration bankrolled by a Russian oligarch.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley (R-IA) said Tuesday that he could not yet commit to holding the hearing requested by Sen. John Curtis (R-UT), according to new reporting by Punchbowl News’ Laura Weiss.

“I think the fact is that it takes time, and if you were going to ask me when you're going to have a hearing, there's no way I could answer that today,” Grassley said.

Grassley added that he would take Curtis’ request “seriously and sit down with staff and see what we can do.”

But Grassley also took a swipe at Curtis, knocking the Utah Republican for failing to give Judiciary Committee Republicans advance notice.

He also noted that Curtis holds his own congressional oversight powers, Weiss reported.

“Ouch, Grassley goes after Curtis …” wrote Andrew Desiderio, a senior congressional reporter with Punchbowl News.

Curtis earlier in the day asked the committee to subpoena the president’s son over his personal business dealings, foreign relationships and gifts.

The demand came after a media storm erupted over reports that Putin-linked Russian oligarch Umar Kremlev bankrolled Trump Jr.’s extravagant wedding, according to media reports.

President Trump's friendly sit-down with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has split his own base wide open, with some of his most devoted supporters furious that he'd give a Democratic socialist any kind of platform, The Daily Beast reported.

Trump met Mamdani, 34, at Gracie Mansion on Monday ahead of the United Nations General Assembly, and the mostly cordial exchange set off immediate backlash from figures like conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer and radio host Sid Rosenberg. Loomer questioned on X why Mamdani deserved a presidential audience at all, arguing the meeting hands the left a political win right before the midterms.

"Why are we allowing the left to control the optics? This only signals to the left that if you openly disrespect the president and violate our laws, you will be rewarded," wrote Loomer, who had a separate vulgar outburst earlier in the day over the matter.

Rosenberg was even more pointed, taking particular issue with the timing given Mamdani's past comments about Israel. "This punk does not deserve the president's respect. Meeting with this Jew hater on Yom Kippur? OMG. Please reconsider Mr. President!" Rosenberg wrote. He noted that he personally pressed White House communications adviser Margo Martin for an explanation, frustrated that Trump himself hadn't addressed his concerns directly.

Not everyone in Trump's orbit is upset, though. Adviser Alex Bruesewitz and Fox News host Lawrence Jones both defended the meeting, framing it as a practical, hometown courtesy rather than any kind of political concession.

"New York is the largest city in the United States and the president's hometown. I see no reason to be outraged over a cordial working relationship between the president and the mayor," Bruesewitz wrote.

Jones argued on Fox & Friends that Trump's willingness to work with Mamdani despite their public sparring reflects old-school political pragmatism that's largely disappeared from Washington.

The more measured reaction only fueled Loomer's frustration, prompting a public back-and-forth with Bruesewitz over whether Republicans could credibly campaign against Mamdani-endorsed candidates while Trump himself cozies up to the mayor.

{{ post.roar_specific_data.api_data.analytics }}