12-22-21

'Unconstitutional conduct cannot be permitted in our democracy'

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's special partisan committee to "investigate" the events at the U.S. Capitol on last Jan. 6 already is facing a slew of lawsuits – or open opposition – over its apparent constitutional violations.

Plaintiffs include Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, broadcaster Alex Jones, U.S. Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., John Eastman, Cleta Mitchell, Ali Alexander, Amy Harris, Mark Meadows and Steve Bannon.

Now it could be getting even worse for them.

Former federal prosecutor and founder of Judicial Watch and FreedomWatchUSA Larry Klayman has announced the filing – in state court – of a lawsuit against FBI agents and their agency over their treatment of one of the participants in the legal part of the protest in Washington that day.

TRENDING: Our Christmas message: 'Fear not!'

And it is requesting class-action status on behalf of all of those innocent citizens who went to Washington – but broke no laws.

Klayman explained his case is on behalf of Jesus Rivera, "who had his constitutional rights to free speech, association, and other rights under the Florida Constitution allegedly violated by special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, at the alleged direction of FBI Director Christopher Wray."

The complaint was filed in the First Judicial Court in Escambia County, Florida.

Klayman explained Rivera "had his home broken into at dawn by a scores of FBI agents who illegally arrested, interrogated him and wrongly appropriated his property in order to allegedly send a message to the disenfranchised masses, to quell free speech and the right to associate and protest against the government."

"Mr. Rivera, who traveled to Washington, D.C., to peacefully protest over the rank corruption in our federal government and the federal courts, as typified during the 2020 election challenges concerning President Donald Trump, allegedly had his rights violated by the agents of the FBI. He and others similarly situated, as members of the alleged class of persons, now seeks to use Florida courts to seek redress for his grievances. No such relief is likely before the compromised federal courts, which have done the bidding of the political establishments who put them on the federal bench," Klayman explained in a statement.

"The unconstitutional conduct as alleged in the complaint in Rivera v. Andrew S. Tokajer et al, … cannot be permitted in our democracy, which is under severe attack by politicians, elitist government officials, and compromised federal judges," the statement said.

Defendants include Andrew S. Tokajer, Alex Chan, Christopher Wray and many "unidentified FBI special agents," as well as the FBI.

Damages sought are "in excess of $30,000 with regard to each of the defendants."

The lead plaintiff, a military veteran who served in the Middle East, "and members of the class have standing to bring this action because they have been directly affected, harmed, and victimized by the unlawful conduct of the defendants complained of herein," explains the filing.

"Rivera sues on behalf of and asks for the certification of a class … consisting of those who were peacefully protesting in Washington, D.C. on January 6, 2021, but who did not commit any crimes or engage in any violence, but who are being terrorized and chilled in the exercise of their rights, harassed, and targeted by these defendants for peacefully expressing political opinions and ideologies," it continues.

While "a few" people entered the Capitol and engaged in acts of violence, Rivera was not among them, it explains. "All plaintiff Rivera did was exercise his right to peacefully assemble and protest under the Florida Constitution."

Wray not only threatened innocent people, the case charges, but acted with others to turn "the FBI into what is in effect their own personal 'Secret Police' or "'Gestapo' to target people who were protesting..."

He's apparently been doing that to appease Joe Biden, and protect his own job, the complaint charges.

"Yet, defendant Wray's directives and orders have resulted in the constitutional violations of countless people who did not engage in any criimnal activity or violence no January 6, 2021, including plaintiff Rivera and members of the class."

It was two weeks after the events in Washington that FBI "raided" Rivera's home in Pensacola, Fla.

Agents "forcibly" entered the home with "guns drawn."

But, the case charges, "the warrant was obtained by defendants through intentional lies if not outright fraud, since, as set forth and shown below, there was absolutely no probable cause to suspect plaintiff Rivera of having committed any crime."

The facts are, according to the complaint, that most of those who entered the Capitol that day went in peacefully, "carefully walked with the velvet crowd-control ropes and did not stray."

The took selfies in the public building and acted "as peaceable, innocent wide-eyed tourists…"

The complaints being made by the class members include that they did not commit any crimes but still are being "terrorized, chilled in the exercise of their constitutional rights of Free Speech" and more.

The members of the class are so many "that individual joinder is impracticable, the case said.

The government failed, the lawsuit charges, in its unconstitutional searches and seizures because it had no probable cause and refused to provide due process.

WND reported just this week it was looking more and more like members of Pelosi's partisan committee investigating Jan. 6 would be defendants in court.

Three more individuals, Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, broadcaster Alex Jones, and U.S. Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., all have begun their own court action, or protest, denying the committee's authority.

They join a long list of others who already have sued, charging the committee is trying to abrogate the Constitution's First Amendment with its demands, and isn't even legitimate because it fails to meet the requirements of the authorizing resolution.

The committee, which is partisan because Pelosi refused to seat the GOP members selected by the minority party and instead recruited two anti-Trump GOP members, Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Rep. Kinzinger of Illinois, has issued vast and broad demands for statements, evidence, phone records, testimony and much, much more.

But now the Gateway Pundit documented that retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn has requested from a Florida court a restraining order against Pelosi and her committee.

That request explained, "General Flynn did not organize, speak at, or actively participate in any rallies or protests in Washington, D.C., on January 6, 2021, and he of course did not participate in the attack on the Capitol that day. Ex. A, Declaration of Michael Flynn ('Flynn Decl.') ¶ 5. Nevertheless, the Select Committee—assuming the role of shadow prosecutor for the January 6 attack and working in parallel with the actual prosecutors at the Department of Justice—has diverted its attention from its important work to target General Flynn for a quasi-prosecution that is either aimless or transparently partisan."

He continued, "Despite not participating in any public events in Washington on January 6, Defendants have issued General Flynn a sweeping subpoena seeking twenty different categories of documents and a demand that General Flynn appear for a deposition in Washington, D.C. The subpoena demands records of General Flynn’s communications about the 2020 election, and seeks to identify the basis for his beliefs and the persons with whom he associated, in addition to contacts with government officials. It thus constitutes a frontal assault on his 1st Amendment rights to freedom of speech, association, and petition."

The Washington Examiner reported Perry is declining to appear before the commission, insisting Pelosi's faction isn't legitimate.

"I stand with immense respect for our Constitution, the Rule of Law, and the Americans I represent who know that this entity is illegitimate, and not duly constituted under the rules of the US House of Representatives," he stated. "I decline this entity’s request and will continue to fight the failures of the radical Left who desperately seek distraction from their abject failures of crushing inflation, a humiliating surrender in Afghanistan, and the horrendous crisis they created at our border."

The committee chairman, Rep. Bennie Thompson, had accused Perry of having "multiple text and other communications with President Trump's former Chief of Staff regarding" Jeffrey Clark, as well as various "communications with the White House," in demanding his testimony.

If the committee moves forward as it has with other individuals, issuing subpoenas and then referring for contempt charges if they don't comply, it would put the Democrats into the "new territory" of voting to hold a sitting member of Congress in contempt.

And GOP members already have confirmed they essentially are taking notes on what Democrats, now in the majority, do to Republicans, as the GOP widely is predicted to become the majority as early as the election 11 months from now.

It was Politico that reported broadcaster Alex Jones has sued the committee to block members of obtaining his telephone records and compelling him to testify.

The filing asserted his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination, and refusing what he described as the committee's attempt to obtain his documents.

"With respect to his deposition subpoena, Jones has informed the Select Committee that he will assert his First, Fourth, and Fifth Amendment rights to decline to produce the documents requested by the Select Committee, asserting that he engaged in constitutionally protected political and journalistic activity under the First Amendment, that the Fourth Amendment guarantees him a right of privacy in his papers, and that he is entitled to due process and the right to remain silent under the Fifth Amendment," the filing said.

Politico pointed out the committee already is facing "a flood" of litigation, including cases from John Eastman, a lawyer who has sued to protect his phone records. Also, Cleta Mitchell, a prominent conservative attorney who joined Trump's early January call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, sued to quash a subpoena from the committee.

WND also had reported on a new case against the committee from Ali Alexander, the national organizer of "Stop the Steal."

His charges include that the committee is illegitimate, because it never has complied with the resolution that created it, and its subpoenas are therefore irrelevant.

The case against Pelosi's "Select Committee" charges its members may not constitutionally "interrogate, threaten, intimidate, or chill the political beliefs of U.S. citizens."

The case was filed by lawyers Jonathan Moseley and Paul Kamenar, who is serving as Alexander's main attorney.

Moseley explained he was attorney of record, and that "Stop the Steal, LLC" was to encourage all responsible to address the concerns of millions of voters about how their votes were counted.

"'Stop the Steal' held many rallies and events in cities around the country over many months, without incident which were 100% peaceful. Stop the Steal never had any relationship whatsoever to any act of violence nor any goal of preventing the certification of the Electoral College vote," the statement from Moseley explained.

"The nation’s political class is gripped with a Salem Witch Trial like madness which is unable or unwilling to distinguish between approximately 50-250 people who were violent, and the exercise of free speech by hundreds of thousands of peaceful demonstrators," the statement said. "Hyper-ventilating articles confuse Ali Alexander as helping to organize the 100% peaceful and lawful demonstration at the Ellipse and Washington Monument because it 'preceded' some violence at the Capitol."

Earlier, WND had reported that the challenges to Pelosi's partisan committee included a lawsuit by a freelance photojournalist over a subpoena for all her records.

Just the News confirmed freelancer Amy Harris was suing the House committee over its "invasive and sweeping subpoena" of her telephone records.

Pelosi's investigators also are facing a lawsuit from Mark Meadows, former chief of staff to President Donald Trump, over the Democrats' demands for his telephone records. Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon has been cited with a criminal complaint over his refusal to comply with committee demands, and already has demanded information about communications between the committee members and other evidence, to which he is entitled as a defendant.

Content created by the WND News Center is available for re-publication without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact [email protected].

https://www.wnd.com/2021/12/new-lawsuit-jan-6-seeks-class-action-status-behalf-everyone-innocent/