Proud Boys Leaders Sue US Over Jan. 6

Five members of the Proud Boys aren't content with being pardoned—they want the government to pay them $100 million over their Jan. 6 prosecutions. The five filed a lawsuit to that effect Friday in federal court in Florida, alleging that the government violated their constitutional rights by prosecuting them, reports the Wall Street Journal.

• The five are Enrique Tarrio, Zachary Rehl, Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, and Dominic Pezzola, all of whom were convicted for their roles in the breach of the Capitol. Their suit claims that federal authorities sought "to punish and oppress political allies of President Donald Trump, by any and all means necessary, legal, or illegal."

• The Washington Post takes note of a twist: President Trump pardoned the men, but now his administration may have to defend the original prosecutions. "A settlement would suggest that the violence of January 6 was entirely justified," says Matthew Dallek of George Washington University. "It would say to the country that these Proud Boys who were convicted in a court of law, in a fair trial, were wrongfully prosecuted and victims. It just turns the entire day on its head."

(More Proud Boys stories.)