Poli Alert Politics & Civics
Related Articles
A federal judge on Friday dismissed the criminal convictions of four leaders of the far-right Proud Boys, while sharply criticizing President Donald Trump’s characterization of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and describing the administration’s effort as driven by politics rather than legal principle.
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly approved the Justice Department’s request to vacate the convictions of Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl and Dominic Pezzola, concluding that the court had little practical authority to block the move despite expressing disagreement with the administration’s rationale.
“There is little mystery about why the Government is moving to dismiss this case, or whether dismissal is in fact what the Executive seeks,” Kelly wrote in his ruling. “President Trump’s views about the prosecution of those who attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6—whether those views are based on fact or fiction—are well known, as is his intention to extend clemency to them through the Executive Order.”
Convictions erased after presidential clemency
The ruling follows Trump’s sweeping clemency order issued shortly after returning to office in January 2025. The president granted pardons to roughly 1,500 people convicted in connection with the Capitol attack while commuting the sentences of 14 others, including Nordean, Biggs, Rehl and Pezzola.
Although their prison sentences had already been commuted, their convictions remained intact until the Justice Department sought to have them formally dismissed.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit approved the government’s request in May and returned the matter to Kelly to finalize the dismissals.
Leaders convicted in Jan. 6 attack
Nordean, Biggs and Rehl were convicted in 2023 of seditious conspiracy for their roles in organizing and leading Proud Boys members during the Capitol assault. Each received lengthy prison sentences before Trump’s clemency order.
Pezzola became one of the most recognizable participants in the riot after he was filmed using a stolen police riot shield to smash a Capitol window, creating one of the first breaches of the building. He was convicted of assaulting law enforcement officers, robbery of government property, obstruction of an official proceeding and other federal offenses.
Federal prosecutors previously argued that Nordean and Pezzola “participated in every consequential breach at the Capitol,” helping lead Proud Boys members through police barricades, into the Capitol building and during assaults on law enforcement officers.
Rehl served as president of the Philadelphia chapter of the Proud Boys.
Judge says options were limited
Despite criticizing the administration’s position, Kelly concluded that he had few meaningful alternatives under the circumstances.
“It is unclear what the Court would do with more detailed information about the Government’s reasons for seeking to dismiss,” Kelly wrote. “It is hard to see how any course other than granting the motion in full could make practical sense.”
The ruling is part of the Justice Department’s broader effort to unwind prosecutions stemming from the Capitol attack. In April, the department also moved to vacate the convictions of roughly a dozen former members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, many of whom had also been convicted of seditious conspiracy.
Trump has consistently defended many Jan. 6 defendants, describing them as victims of political persecution and making their cases a central part of his broader criticism of the federal criminal justice system.
