The Death of Thomas Retzlaff: No Suspects Questioned But Many Enemies, Including Ex-Proud Boy Attorney

Retzlaff was a garbage human being. Former Proud Boy attorney Jason Van Dyke is a garbage human being. Yes, Retzlaff went after VD relentlessly, But the stupid that was Thomas Retzlaff – and who else he pissed off – can’t be ignored.

Lady Elaine

EL MIRAGE, ARIZONA – Thomas Retzlaff, a convicted felon who for the past four years had been embroiled in a feud with the neo-fascist attorney of the Proud Boys and has accused him of planning his assassination with the help of Proud Boy members, has been found dead in his home with the medical examiner ruling the death a homicide.

According to the Phoenix New Times, Retzlaff, 55, was discovered by police on Sept. 1 with unspecified “fatal injuries” after responding to a welfare check requested by his wife. While police say the case is still under investigation and there are no suspects, there has been a focus by media reports and from social networks on the Proud Boys and in particular Plano, TX attorney Jason Van Dyke (VD) who has been fighting with Retzlaff in court for the past four years. 

VDis a former Proud Boys member and once served as the group’s lawyer. VD, who for the past few years has had “absolutely nothing to do” with the far-right group that has connections to white supremacy, told a reporter of the Phoenix New Times that he did not kill Thomas Retzlaff. The reason VD is a potential suspect is due to the well documented fact that he and Retzlaff had sizable beef.

Retzlaff and VD started their court battles back in 2017 when Retzlaff filed a grievance with the State Bar of Texas against VD. One that eventually resulted in the suspension of VD’s law license in February 2019. It has since been reinstated.

In 2018, Oak Point, Texas, police alleged in criminal case reports and an affidavit for a search warrant of VD’s home, that VD was using the Arizona chapter of the Proud Boys to conduct surveillance on the late Retzlaff as part of a plot to either injure or murder him. During their search of VD’s home, police seized a camera, a computer and a computer memory stick. A police report detailed VD’s alleged plot to hurt or kill Retzlaff. The allegations didn’t lead to charges but were being used by Retzlaff as part of his attempt to have VD’s civil suit against him dismissed. The case was indeed dismissed in November, 2020.

In November 2018 the Dallas chapter of the Proud Boys say they gave VD the boot when, after leading the group for 1.5 days, he had accidentally doxxed senior members of their organization. He was however the owner of the Proud Boys trademark until he terminated it earlier this year.

Retzlaff meanwhile was a man of few friends and known to the Courts as a vexatious litigant. He also had a long list of criminal charges against him. In 1997 he was convicted of “misdemeanor assault” for raping his then wife and videotaping the incident; his parental rights to his two children were also terminated that year. From 1998 to 2004 Retzlaff served six years in state prison for carrying a prohibited weapon onto an elementary school campus in Temple. In 2014 he was accused by his daughter of stalking and harassing herself and multiple other women, and posting online revenge porn against her. He was also accused of secretly posing as a member of the KKK on the internet. At the time of his death, Retzlaff was facing prosecution in Maricopa County Superior Court for charges including identity theft and forgery, according to online court documents.