Four leaders of the far-right group Proud Boys have sued the U.S. Department of Justice. They claim that their constitutional rights were violated during their prosecution for the storming of the Capitol in January 2021.
Henry ‘Enrique’ Tarrio, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl, and Ethan Nordean are seeking $100 million in damages (approximately 88 million euros).
The men were sentenced to prison terms of up to 22 years during Joe Biden’s presidency but were released thanks to Donald Trump. On the first day of his second term, he pardoned more than 1,500 suspects in the storming and commuted the sentences of fourteen people.
The storming took place after Trump urged his supporters to resist the 2020 election results. “We will fight. We will fight like hell,” he shouted after his election defeat, while continuing to deny the outcome. According to authorities, the Proud Boys played a central role in the storming. Prosecutors described that the Proud Boys saw themselves as ‘Trump’s army’ that day.
During the storming, five people died, and at least 140 officers were injured. In the aftermath of the incident, four officers committed suicide. More than 1,100 people have been arrested for the storming. At least 630 have pleaded guilty, and at least 110 have now been convicted.