Jan. 6 Rioters Want Millions Over Officers' Use of Force

A group of people who were part of the Jan. 6 mob at the US Capitol now say they're the victims—and they want to be compensated. In a class-action lawsuit filed in federal court in Florida, several rioters and rallygoers are seeking tens of millions of dollars in damages from Capitol Police and the Washington, DC, force, arguing that officers used excessive and "indiscriminate" force while trying to push back the mob, Politico reports. The suit focuses on nonlethal crowd-control tactics—rubber bullets, pepper balls, chemical spray, and flashbangs—that plaintiffs say were fired recklessly at people who weren't assaulting officers or breaking through barricades.

Plaintiffs include:

• AJ Fischer: The Proud Boys member was charged with assault but later had his case wiped out by President Trump's sweeping pardon.
• Patrick and Marie Sullivan: They maintain they were hit with pepper balls and affected by chemical agents. The Sullivans were never charged.
• Craig Bingert: A Department of Justice statement said Bingert was among the rioters who grabbed a metal bike rack that the police were using as a barricade to defend the Capitol and pushed it hard against officers, injuring at least one officer. Bingert was sentenced to 96 months in prison.
• Christopher Worrell: The Proud Boys member was convicted of multiple felonies after being accused of assaulting a group of police officers with a deadly and dangerous weapon, per WLRN. He took off while under house arrest and was a fugitive for six weeks before being caught. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

The suit contends the protesters were "overwhelmingly peaceful" before police launched explosive munitions like pepper balls. The case has been assigned to US District Judge Paul Byron, a Barack Obama appointee. The proposed class would also be open to other high-profile Jan. 6 defendants. Suing has paid off for some Jan. 6 figures and Trump allies. The estate of Ashli Babbitt, who was fatally shot by a Capitol Police officer as she tried to climb through a broken door toward the House chamber, reached a multimillion-dollar settlement last year.