5 members of the Proud Boys, a far-right militant group, declare their constitutional rights had been violated once they had been prosecuted for his or her participation within the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol, in response to a lawsuit filed Friday.
The lawsuit was filed in Orlando federal court docket by former Proud Boys chairman Enrique Tarrio, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl, Ethan Nordean and Dominic Pezzola.
It seeks unspecified compensatory damages plus 6% curiosity and $100 million plus curiosity in punitive damages.
The lawsuit claims the boys had been arrested with inadequate possible trigger and that authorities brokers later “discovered” pretend incriminating proof.
Additionally they declare they had been held for years in pretrial detention, typically in solitary confinement.
“The Plaintiffs themselves didn’t impede the proceedings on the Capitol, destroy authorities property, resist arrest, conspire to impede the police, or take part in civil dysfunction, nor did they plan for or order anybody else to take action,” the lawsuit mentioned.
Tarrio, Biggs, Rehl and Nordean had been all convicted of seditious conspiracy and different crimes for his or her participation within the Capitol riot that sought to cease Congress from certifying former U.S. President Joe Biden’s win over President Donald Trump within the 2020 presidential election.
Pezzola was acquitted on the conspiracy cost however convicted of stealing a police officer’s riot protect and utilizing it to smash a window.
After returning to workplace earlier this yr, Trump granted pardons to virtually the entire greater than 1,500 individuals who stormed the Capitol.
Whereas Tarrio acquired a pardon, the opposite 4 plaintiffs had their sentences commuted.
The lawsuit mentioned all 4 utilized for pardons on Could 13.
The U.S. Justice Division didn’t instantly reply to a message searching for remark.
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