I’m sad to report the passing of another ’84 JMHS alum. I appreciate the fellow classmate who provided me with much of this information. Admittedly, this one is bizarre and tragic. I never want to publish anything I’ll need to retract, nor do I wish to defame the deceased. Even though I couldn’t locate an official obituary, I was able to trace Tom’s Arizona address back to previous records in Olmsted County. The Tom in AZ also had two children named Collin and Brittany as well as an ex-wife named Denise, which matches the information Tom provided on his own profile. With this, it seems the information is conclusive enough to add an In Memory entry to our site. ~ Ed.

From MSN News:

An Arizona man who claimed he was targeted in a terrifying Proud Boys “assassination” plot has been found dead in a suspected homicide, according to authorities.

Officers from the El Mirage Police Department found Thomas Christopher Retzlaff, 55, dead at his home on Sept. 1 2021 with unspecified “fatal injuries,” spokesperson Timothy Mason told the Phoenix New Times. Police had been asked to do a welfare check by his wife. The death was ruled a homicide by the Maricopa Medical Examiner, the New Times reported.

Hanszen Laporte, a law firm that was representing Retzlaff in a slew of convoluted lawsuits, confirmed his death to The Daily Beast on Friday.

While police have not disclosed any further details about Retzlaff’s death, and not named any suspects, The Daily Beast previously reported that he had been complaining for years about what he said was a campaign of “threats of murder and mayhem” carried out by Jason Lee Van Dyke. The Texas lawyer previously represented the Proud Boys and was once a member of the far-right “Western chauvinist” group.

According to a legal filing that cited an Oak Point Police Department last year, Van Dyke had tried to use members of Proud Boys’ Arizona chapter to surveil Retzlaff. Van Dyke vociferously disputed the claims, with a March 16, 2020, response reading, “There is no credible or admissible evidence before this Court to suggest that Defendant's wild theories of a conspiracy to murder both him and his counsel have any credibility whatsoever.”

The long-running conflict between the two men began in early 2017, when, as The Daily Beast reported, Van Dyke took a job with the district attorney’s office in Victoria County, Texas–only to be subject to a complaint filed by Retzlaff.

Retzlaff accused Van Dyke of racism and of running an abusive Twitter account under a pseudonym, sparking a slew of lawsuits between the pair that escalated into the alleged death threats. Retzlaff suggested things spiraled in part because, he said, he effectively cost Van Dyke the job.

“I live in San Antonio, and Victoria County is right next to where I live,” Retzlaff told The Daily Beast in a phone conversation at the time. “When I found out Van Dyke had got the job there, I had some communications with the district attorney and said ‘this guy is a crazy person, why would you hire him? Didn’t you use Google?’”

A $100 million libel lawsuit filed by Van Dyke against Retzlaff was dismissed last year.

For his own part, Retzlaff had a robust rap sheet. He was convicted of misdemeanor assault on his wife, violating a protective order, theft, tampering with a government record, “display of harmful material to a minor,” and a felony weapons offense. He was also accused in separate, unsuccessful litigation of secretly posing as a member of the KKK on the internet.

The Phoenix New Times reached Van Dyke by phone on Thursday night and found him in the middle of a Dungeons and Dragons game. He denied any involvement with the death of his rival. He also said he was “glad to hear” about it.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/man-who-complained-ex-proud-boy-was-plotting-to-kill-him-is-found-dead/ar-AAP2R1h?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531

From FOX News:

It was a mysterious murder in El Mirage, Ariz. The victim, Thomas Retzlaff, was once accused of online stalking and harassment after being embroiled in a nasty legal battle with a former member of the Proud Boys.

The 55-year-old was found dead by El Mirage Police in his home after his newlywed wife called in a welfare check. Investigators won't provide many details at all, but the county medical examiner is ruling it a homicide.

Ring surveillance video on the night of Sept. 1 showed when El Mirage police officers were investigating the house Retzlaff lived in near Dysart and Cactus Roads. Retzlaff's dog can be heard barking in the background.

"More police came, and that's when I suspected that something happened," a neighbor said. "Something serious happened in the house." Retzlaff's body was later discovered.

A neighbor said that she has known Retzlaff since she moved in a few years ago. She said she last saw him on either Aug. 21 or 22, a week prior to the welfare check. At the time, she learned that Retzlaff had married a young woman who used to be his roommate. The home is apparently vacant at this time, and an eviction notice is left at the rental property's door by a Maricopa County Constable.

Retzlaff's son, Collin, spoke with FOX 10 over the phone. He said he also called police after not getting a response from his dad. "I mean, it was just like eating us inside," Collin said. "I wanted to know…what happened to him?" 

In an email response, El Mirage Police wrote: “We are not able to release any more than we have at this time. The investigation is ongoing and we are investigating many leads.” Meanwhile, Collin said he has not been able to enter the home, and he is not getting answers from investigators. "It doesn't seem like they're doing anything," said Collin.

So, who is Thomas Retzlaff? A Texas lawyer is not holding back about who Retzlaff was. "I was a victim of stalking by this man from approximately March of 2017 until about, I would say, nine months prior to his death," said Jason Van Dyke. "We really didn't have anything to do with each other after the litigation ended."

Van Dyke is a former member of the Proud Boys, a far-right all-male group born in the midst of the 2016 presidential election. Van Dyke admits he served as the group's lawyer, but denies current involvement. "First of all, I haven't been involved in the Proud Boys in almost three years now, and I'm glad I haven't been involved in that," he said. "I wanted nothing more to do with them."

In March 2018, Van Dyke filed a $100 million defamation lawsuit in federal court, accusing Retzlaff of calling him a Nazi and a pedophile online.  Retzlaff had filed complaints with the State Bar in Texas to block Van Dyke from a job as a county prosecutor. A judge denied Retzlaff's motion to dismiss the case, and court documents say Van Dyke made a promise to Retzlaff: “If my law career dies, you die with it.”

By March 2020, Retzlaff motioned to dismiss Van Dyke's lawsuit, again accusing him of targeting him in a murder plot. He cited an audio recording obtained by an FBI informant revealing Van Dyke had members of the Proud Boys chapter in Arizona watching him.

Van Dyke denies the alleged assassination plot. "There was a conversation that occurred with my roommate," Van Dyke said. "I was in a very dark place in my life. I was in therapy, I was not in the best state of mind." Ultimately, a judge dismissed the case in November 2020 - calling it all 'spiteful litigation.' Van Dyke says he was relieved to find out about Retzlaff's death, and said that El Mirage Police have not contacted him.

Despite Retzlaff's internet persona, Collin said that is not the man he knew. "I know that he used to be a really helpful person," said the victim's son. "I know that for a fact."

Neighbors had no idea about the intense legal battles involving Retzlaff, nor do they know about criminal allegations involving Retzlaff. According to Maricopa County court records, Retzlaff was facing charges of identity theft, forgery and computer tampering prior to his death. "He was a good person. I cannot imagine anybody hurting him and why," said one neighbor.

Collin said his father did not deserve to be killed, and he continues to wait for a break in the case from police. "I have no idea. They don't tell us anything," said Collin.

https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/questions-remain-after-man-involved-in-legal-battle-with-ex-proud-boys-member-was-killed-in-arizona