Latest news with #SixthAmendmentRights
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Proud Boys members file federal lawsuit over 'illegal' tactics in Jan. 6 prosecutions
Five members of the Proud Boys are suing the U.S. government and certain employees in the FBI and Department of Justice for $100 million over their Jan. 6 prosecutions. Enrique Tarrio, Zachary Rehl, Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs and Dominic Pezzola allege in the lawsuit the FBI and DOJ violated their constitutional rights with their prosecution over what prosecutors said was their planning of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. In a document filed in a Florida federal court and obtained by Fox News Digital, the men claim "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. "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." Outgoing Us Capitol Police Chief Criticizes Trump Pardons For Jan. 6 Defendants Fox News Digital has reached out to the U.S. Department of Justice for comment. Read On The Fox News App Four of the five men were convicted of seditious conspiracy after the attack, and Tarrio faced the harshest punishment — 22 years for planning the attack — of any of the Jan. 6 defendants, according to The Wall Street Journal. Nordean was sentenced to 18 years, Biggs was sentenced to 17 years and Rehl was sentenced to 15 years. Pezzola was found guilty of conspiracy to obstruct Congress and sentenced to 10 years in prison. However, President Donald Trump pardoned or commuted the sentences of nearly all the defendants after he took office this year, including Tarrio, Rehl, Nordean, Biggs and Pezzola. Trump Administration Agrees To Pay Ashli Babbitt's Family $5 Million All the men except Tarrio were at the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6, according to the Journal. Tarrio had been barred from entering Washington, D.C., because of a previous arrest, The Washington Post reported. "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 … as well as the common law tort of malicious prosecution and false imprisonment," the suit adds. Prosecutors said Pezzola was seen on video using a police riot shield to commit the first breach of the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6. Prosecutors alleged the men were charged under a "novel theory of criminal conspiracy called the 'tool theory,'" according to the suit. "Despite the legal jiggery-pokery employed by the government to obscure the fact, the Plaintiffs were essentially convicted of 'stochastic terrorism,' a leftist bugbear used to describe rhetoric offensive to them that they claim provokes violent acts." The men also claimed in the lawsuit that the government didn't have probable cause to raid their article source: Proud Boys members file federal lawsuit over 'illegal' tactics in Jan. 6 prosecutions
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Proud Boys members suing Justice Department for January 6 prosecutions
Members of the Proud Boys who were convicted by a jury on several counts related to the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack – each of whom were later pardoned or had their sentences commuted by President Donald Trump – are now suing the Justice Department for what they say was a 'political prosecution.' The individuals, including several former leaders of the group, say the prosecution in the case amounted to an '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.' Four of the five men – Enrique Tarrio, the former leader of the group; Joseph Biggs; Ethan Nordean; Trump Zachary Rehl; and Dominic Pezzola – were convicted of seditious conspiracy and each received lengthy sentences prior to Trump's absolution. The group wants the government to pay $100 million in restitution for the criminal prosecution and has asked for a jury trial in the matter. In the wake of Trump's election for a second term, the administration granted full clemency to hundreds of people convicted of felony crimes like destroying property and assaulting police on January 6. Trump's reelection also brought with it a complete about-face on investigations into those who attacked the Capitol that day, effectively ending the largest ever investigation conducted by the FBI. Trump's Justice Department also recently announced it had reached a settlement in the lawsuit brought by the family of Ashli Babbitt, who was shot and killed by an officer on January 6 after attempting to breach the Speaker's Lobby near the House chamber. CNN has reached out to the Justice Department for comment. Republicans and Trump allies have long argued that the hundreds of cases brought against people who participated in the January 6 attack often amounted to political persecution from Joe Biden's Justice Department because they targeted Trump supporters. The lawsuit filed Friday could either force the administration to defend its prosecution of the Proud Boys or settle with the men. One of the men suing the Justice Department, Dominic Pezzola, was the first rioter to break open a window at the Capitol, allowing scores of protestors to enter the building, prosecutors said during the trial. Prosecutors argued that the other four men were leaders of the group and helped coordinate and helm elements of the attack. '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 lawsuit says. The lawsuit argues that prosecutors went after the five men despite knowing they never organized or coordinated the events of January 6. Prosecutors, the lawsuit alleges, invented 'a whole new legal theory,' stacked the jury and breached attorney-client communications.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump-Pardoned Proud Boy Leaders Just Filed Outrageous January 6 Suit
Donald Trump pardoned the Proud Boys for invading the U.S. Capitol on January 6. Now they want compensation. On Friday, a coalition of the far-right paramilitary group's leaders filed to sue the federal government for $100 million—plus 6 percent in interest—claiming that, in light of their pardons, their arrest and various charges had actually violated their constitutional rights. The group, composed of Enrique Tarrio, Zachary Rehl, Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, and Dominic Pezzola, refer to themselves in the filing as 'J6 defendants.' In it, they cite the 'egregious and systemic abuse' of the legal system to punish Trump's allies as the basis for their damages. '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,' claimed their attorneys. '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 filing continued. The filing leveraged Trump's own language to further argue their case, citing the president's January 20 executive order in which he referred to their prosecution as a 'grave national injustice' as means to seek damages.
