The Department of Justice requested to dismiss a complaint filed by Proud Boys organizers, who sued the government over their prosecution following the Jan. 6 attack.
In June, five Proud Boys leaders — Enrique Tarrio, Zachary Rehl, Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, and Dominic Pezzola — sued the DOJ, FBI Special Agent Nicole Miller, and several unnamed FBI and DOJ employees for $100 million over how their prosecutions were handled following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The five insurrectionists claimed their prosecutions were political, motivated to “punish and oppress” President Donald Trump’s allies, and violated several constitutional amendments.
Both the DOJ and named defendant Miller filed motions to dismiss the Proud Boys’ complaint on Monday.
The DOJ wrote that it moved to dismiss the complaint for five main reasons, including that the Proud Boys’ “malicious prosecution claims lack merit” and “the United States has sovereign immunity on all constitutional claims.”
DOJ attorneys Siegmund F. Fuchs, Brett A. Shumate, and C. Salvatore D’Alessio, Jr. argued the plaintiffs’ motion should be dismissed in its entirety, which the plaintiffs oppose, according to the motion.
The Proud Boys were each convicted of their Jan. 6 charges in 2023, but Trump issued a pardon for Tarrio and sentence commutations for the other four when he took office in January.
They filed their complaint against the DOJ in the U.S. District Court of the Middle District of Florida. They alleged their prosecution was “malicious” and included warrantless home raids, “tapping and monitoring attorney communications,” and the use of an inside informant.
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In their motions to dismiss the Proud Boys complaint on Monday, the DOJ and Miller pointed to the plaintiff’s failure to state a claim, while the DOJ also filed to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction.
Each of the plaintiffs is represented by Orlando-based Augustus Sol Invictus and Virginia-based Thomas F. Ranieri, Sr. The case was originally assigned to Trump-appointed Judge Wendy Williams Berger and referred to Magistrate Judge Daniel C. Irick.