DC drops Proud Boys lawsuit
The Washington, D.C., attorney general’s office has dropped its lawsuit against the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers over the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
In a court filing, the attorney general’s office said the city was unlikely to be able to find enough money to justify continuing the case against the conservative groups.
The case was being dismissed with prejudice, which means the claims against the defendants cannot be brought again.
It was originally brought by D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine (D) in 2021.
The complaint was against the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers and named several individuals over their roles in the Capitol riot, which forced the evacuation of Congress as it sought to certify the 2020 election results.
Racine argued the people involved broke both local D.C. and federal laws, including a statute that stemmed from the 1871 Ku Klux Klan Act, which focused on violent conspiracies.
The lawsuit was seeking damages from the defendants for “restitution and recompense” for those injured.
The Hill has reached out to the attorney general’s office for comment. A spokesperson said in a statement to The Washington Post that there were challenges facing the District and there were “relatively small potential recoveries” they could make from the case. As a result, office of the attorney general "resources are now needed and best used elsewhere.”
In a post on social platform X, former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio reacted to the news.
“Another exoneration? If God is with us… Who can be against us,” Tarrio said.
Tarrio and Stewart Rhodes, the founder of the Oath Keepers, were pardoned by President Trump when he regained office earlier this year. They both said they would like to see the president seek retribution on their behalf.
Tarrio was released from prison in January after receiving a full pardon from Trump, ending his 22-year sentence after being convicted of sedition related to the riot. Stewart had his sentence commuted by Trump to time served. He was serving an 18-year prison term for the Capitol attack.