Families of Joseph and Samaru filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government in the District of Massachusetts regarding the deaths of the two men.
Posted by Behind the Bastards, Checked
- Sources
- 6 support
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 93%
Behind the BastardsOct 3, 2026
Multiple independent sources confirm that relatives of Chad Joseph and Rishi Samaroo (spelled 'Samaru' in the post) sued the U.S. government in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts over their deaths in the October 14, 2025 strike. The sources do not match the post's spelling exactly, which is a minor, non-material difference.
What was said
… Joseph's grandfather characterized the strike as a quote act of evil. End quote They seemingly had no connection with drug trafficking other than Joseph's uncle being a quote unquote drug lord for the TNT Guardian. Per a lawsuit filed by the families of Joseph and Samaru against the US. Government in the District of Massachusetts, Samaru was working on a farm in Venezuela and had called his sister days before he was killed to let her know that he had found a ride to Trinidad. …
Behind the Bastards · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. NPR and Syracuse Law Review report that family members filed the suit in the District of Massachusetts on January 27, 2026, over the deaths of Chad Joseph and Rishi Samaroo.[1][2]
Supports. The Center for Constitutional Rights case page and the CourtListener docket (D. Mass., 1:26-cv-10364) confirm the suit against the U.S. government, brought by Lenore Burnley and Sallycar Korasingh on behalf of the families.[3][4]
Supports. Newsday and Navy Times report the lawsuit was filed in Massachusetts against the U.S. government for wrongful death and extrajudicial killing, on behalf of the surviving family members of both men.[5][6]
Context. The post's reference to the lawsuit being stalled pending proceedings in Trinidad and Tobago is not addressed by these sources; it does not affect the core claim that the suit was filed.
Sources
6 sources: 1 primary, 1 tier 2, 4 not rated
- 1Families File First Lawsuit Over Trump-Era Boat Strikes ...lawreview.syr.edu · primary source · cited for: supports
- 2Families of killed men file first U.S. federal lawsuit over ...npr.org · tier 2 · cited for: supports
- 3Burnley v. United Statesccrjustice.org · not rated · cited for: supports
- 4Amended Complaint – #45 in Burnley v. United States (D. Mass., 1:26-cv-10364) – CourtListener.comcourtlistener.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 5Families of Trinidadian fishermen killed in US missile strike ...newsday.co.tt · not rated · cited for: supports
- 6Families of two men killed in Caribbean boat strike sue US ...navytimes.com · not rated · cited for: supports
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- Families of Joseph and Samaru filed a lawsuit against the US government in the District of Massachusetts regarding the October 14, 2025, boat strike.True
- A US military boat strike on October 14, 2025, killed six people, including Chad Charpo, Joseph, and Richie Samaru.True
- Four men from Guiria were killed in a US military boat strike on October 1, 2025.Mixed
- Florida brought a case in the Northern District of Florida against the Department of Homeland Security in late October 2026 regarding the SAVE system.Mixed
- The Department of Justice filed lawsuits in California and Alaska regarding election law.True