Trump supporters were treated like enemies of the state by the Biden DOJ.
The curtain is being pulled back on what happened.
And a January 6 lawsuit will expose one scandal the Swamp wanted buried forever.
Ryan Samsel spent nearly four years locked up in federal detention centers awaiting trial for his alleged role in the Capitol protest.
Now he's going after the Biden administration for nearly $18 million.
The Pennsylvania man filed a Federal Tort Claims Act notice, alleging he suffered 62 separate incidents of abuse while in federal custody.
The Allegations That Should Make Every American's Blood Boil
Samsel's attorney Peter Haller laid out a disturbing pattern of systematic torture.
In November 2021, guards allegedly strapped Samsel into a restraint chair for 17 hours straight where local schoolchildren could see him through a window.¹
He was left sitting in his own waste while developing a blood clot from being immobilized.
From January to August 2021, Samsel was placed in a segregated unit with lights on 24 hours a day.²
Denied exercise and showers for seven months.
Guards housed him in closet-sized rooms while he suffered three "major beatings" from corrections officers.³
"Given the severity, duration, and documented multiplicity of the abuses suffered by Mr. Samsel, he is likely to be recognized as the most tortured individual by the Federal Government in recent American history," Haller stated.⁴
Samsel suffered permanent damage including a dislocated jaw, broken orbital bone, broken nose, and acute kidney damage.
He still has partial vision loss in his right eye and needs ongoing medical treatment.
Samsel was held for nearly seven months before being indicted on August 25, 2021, which his attorney says violated due process.⁵
Biden's DOJ Treated Jan. 6 Defendants Worse Than Terrorists
Haller drew a comparison that should shock anyone who believes in American justice.
"The parallel of Ryan's torture to that of Abu Ghraib is remarkable," Haller told The Epoch Times.⁶
Abu Ghraib was the Iraqi prison where U.S. forces abused detainees during the Iraq War.
The scandal sparked international outrage and criminal prosecutions.
But there's a key difference between Abu Ghraib and what allegedly happened to Samsel.
"The only meaningful difference is that in Abu Ghraib, Arab and Middle Eastern terrorists generally suffered torture for a year or less — whereas Ryan Samsel was tortured for four years," Haller said.⁷
President Donald Trump pardoned Samsel on January 20, 2025, along with roughly 1,500 other January 6 defendants.
Federal prosecutors had a meltdown.
Former DOJ prosecutor Jason Manning called the pardons "appalling" in interviews with NBC News.⁸
But Manning and his colleagues never seemed bothered by the conditions Samsel and other January 6 defendants faced in custody.
A federal judge appointed by President Ronald Reagan held Washington, D.C. jail officials in contempt back in October 2021 over the treatment of January 6 defendant Christopher Worrell.⁹
U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth stated it was "clear to me the civil rights of the defendant were violated by the D.C. Department of Corrections."¹⁰
Multiple January 6 defendants complained about conditions so terrible they requested transfers to Guantanamo Bay because the terrorist detention facility had better treatment.¹¹
The Two-Tiered Justice System Exposed
The Biden administration's treatment of January 6 defendants stands in stark contrast to how they handled left-wing violence.
When rioters burned down police stations and federal courthouses during the 2020 Black Lives Matter riots, prosecutors declined to bring charges.
When they did prosecute, sentences were light.
But grandmas who walked into the Capitol got the book thrown at them.
Federal prosecutors sought lengthy prison sentences for misdemeanor trespassing.
The systematic abuse in Samsel's lawsuit provides concrete evidence of what Trump supporters have been saying for years.
The Biden administration weaponized federal law enforcement against political opponents.
Now that weaponization is coming back to haunt them as lawsuits pile up from defendants who suffered abuse in federal custody.
The federal government has six months to respond to Samsel's administrative claim before he can file a full civil lawsuit seeking damages.
Given the documented history of abuse against January 6 defendants, Samsel likely won't be the last to sue over his treatment.
Biden's DOJ thought they could get away with treating political prisoners like enemy combatants.
But justice has a way of catching up with those who abuse their power.
¹ Matthew Vadum, "Jan. 6 Defendant Sues Federal Government Over Alleged Abuses In Custody," The Epoch Times, December 3, 2025.
² Ibid.
³ Ibid.
⁴ Ibid.
⁵ Ibid.
⁶ Ibid.
⁷ Ibid.
⁸ Ken Dilanian and Ryan J. Reilly, "'Appalling': Current and former prosecutors lament Trump's Jan. 6 pardons," NBC News, January 21, 2025.
⁹ "Judge holds Washington, D.C., jail officials in contempt in a Jan. 6 riot case," NPR, October 13, 2021.
¹⁰ Ibid.
¹¹ "Jan. 6 detainees say a D.C. jail is so awful that they'd like a transfer to Guantanamo," NPR, October 7, 2022.
