Pardoned insurrectionist seeks nearly $18 million over pretrial detention conditions

RICHMOND, Va. (CN) — A participant in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday accusing the government of subjecting him to repeated beatings and denying him medical care as a pretrial detainee.

Ryan Samsel, a barber who prosecutors under former President Joe Biden argued was the first person to breach the grounds of the U.S. Capitol, spent time at a handful of jails across Virginia, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C., between his 2021 indictment and a presidential pardon issued on President Donald Trump’s first day back in the White House.

Samsel seeks nearly $18 million in damages under the Federal Torts Claim Act, asserting claims of malicious prosecution, abuse of process, negligence, medical malpractice, civil conspiracy, assault, battery and false imprisonment.

Samsel, who prosecutors claimed pushed over a police officer, resulting in a concussion, detailed multiple instances of prison staff delivering beatings and encouraging other inmates to assault him. A jury convicted Samsel of felony assault and obstruction of an official proceeding on Feb. 2, 2024. Trump pardoned him before he received his sentence, which could have been as long as 20 years in prison.

Samsel also outlined poor conditions, including spending months in solitary confinement with the lights on constantly, 17 hours strapped in four-point restraints, which Samsel claims caused a blood clot and a monthlong period where he couldn’t shower. After his conviction, Samsel claims officials at the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center housed him in a broom closet.

Samsel’s malicious prosecution claims arise from his purported refusal to testify that he witnessed far-right Proud Boys organizer Joe Biggs handling a gun at the insurrection.

The first purported beating occurred in a Washington, D.C.D.C. jail where he claims correctional staff falsely labeled him a member of the Proud Boys group to other inmates, which made him a target. Samsel claims correctional officers zip-tied his hands behind his back before beating him to the point where he suffered reduced vision, ongoing seizures and bone fractures.

In 2021, the director of the D.C.D.C. Department of Corrections denied any wrongdoing during Samsel’s time spent in federal custody in the nation’s capital.

Samsel claims that at the Rappahannock Regional Jail in Virginia, the U.S. Marshal Service temporarily housed him, officials forced him to sleep on the floor, where he was beaten by a cellmate who recognized him from news coverage before placing him in solitary confinement. The jail’s officials also purportedly refused to allow Samsel to undergo surgery to remove two ribs, leaving him untreated for a vascular condition.

The government refused to release Samsel despite his medical conditions due to his history of violent crimes, but transferred him to Central Virginia Regional Jail. Samsel claims officials repeatedly denied him access to his attorney and medical care. Samsel claims the next assault happened during a cell extraction, where officials dropped him while removing him.

“During this period, plaintiff was deprived of exercise, showers, basic hygiene and library access,” Samsel wrote in the complaint. “Mr. Samsel was not allowed outside at any time at CVRJ."

A judge next transferred Samsel to Northern Neck Regional Jail in Virginia. Samsel claims officials again assaulted him. Samsel accuses the officials of framing him for drug use to justify the beating.

“Plaintiff was slammed into a wall, dragged to an area without camera surveillance, repeatedly stabbed in the legs and ankles with keys by Captain English and his officers, punched, and had his head slammed into a door,” Samsel claims. “The assault was so severe that plaintiff required CPR."

Samsel was again transferred, this time to Pennsylvania, where he spent time at the Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia and the Lewisburg Federal Correctional Institution.

“Plaintiff was forced to sleep on a mace-sprayed mattress, was denied access to his legal counsel and legal materials and had scheduled surgeries and appointments canceled or obstructed, exacerbating his serious medical conditions and constituting intentional interference with necessary medical care,” Samsel said. “Plaintiff was at times forced to ‘fish’ for food through the toilet system and denied basic hygiene, exercise and religious materials."

After his conviction, Samsel claims officials housed him in a New York prison with an MS-13 gang leader who attacked him for his political beliefs. Samsel also says he spent an additional night in prison following Trump’s pardon due to a prosecutor’s false claim that he had an outstanding warrant.

The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge David Novak, a Trump appointee. Attorneys representing Samsel declined to comment, while the Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment.