The lawsuit, initiated in Federal District Court in Orlando, Florida, claims that the prosecution by the Justice Department and the F.B.I. was driven by political motives due to their allegiance to former President Donald Trump.

The group’s legal action comes months after Trump suggested clemency for over 1,500 individuals charged in the riot. This lawsuit is part of an ongoing effort by defendants to shift the blame onto federal authorities, portraying the prosecution as corrupt and politically biased. The Proud Boys’ suit echoes Trump’s frequent claims that the January 6 events were misrepresented and that his associates faced unjust prosecutions.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit — Enrique Tarrio, Joseph Biggs, Ethan Nordean, Zachary Rehl, and Dominic Pezzola — aim to revisit legal arguments previously dismissed during a lengthy pretrial period and a multiweek trial in Washington's Federal District Court, which concluded in May 2023. The men argue they were subjected to unfair arrests, denied bail, and spied on by F.B.I. informants. They also accuse federal agents of manipulating evidence to their detriment, asserting these actions violated their constitutional rights.

This legal action is not isolated; in recent months, several other January 6 defendants have either filed or considered filing lawsuits claiming governmental mistreatment or abuse of power. The Proud Boys' lawsuit, however, stands out both for its size and for its direct challenge to the legal proceedings that led to their convictions.