Judge grants Trump admin’s request to dismiss January 6 case against Proud Boys

Judge Dismisses Proud Boys January 6 Case

Trump Administration’s Motion Approved

Judge grants Trump admin s request to dismiss the seditious conspiracy case against four Proud Boys members, according to a federal court ruling issued on Friday. US District Judge Timothy Kelly, a Trump appointee, approved the Justice Department’s motion to vacate the convictions, effectively ending one of the most prominent prosecutions stemming from the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack. This decision marks a notable shift in how the current administration is handling cases initiated during the previous presidency.

The court’s decision follows a formal request filed by the Trump administration’s legal team in April. Judge Kelly explained in his written order that federal courts lack the authority to compel the Executive Branch to continue criminal proceedings against defendants. The judge emphasized that while convictions had been secured, the administration has the discretion to determine whether further prosecution serves the public interest.

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.

The dismissal comes shortly after Trump signed an executive order on his first day back in office, commuting the sentences of the four Proud Boys members. The order also granted pardons to more than one thousand individuals convicted in connection with the Capitol riot. However, it specifically preserved the convictions of Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl, and Dominic Pezzola, even as the Justice Department moved to dismiss the case entirely.

Nordean, Biggs, and Rehl were found guilty of seditious conspiracy in 2023, along with multiple additional charges. Pezzola was acquitted of seditious conspiracy but convicted on other January 6-related offenses. The Justice Department, led by Todd Blanche, argued that the administration should treat this case consistently with other January 6 matters, regardless of when the prosecution began.

The decisions to issue the Executive Order and to abandon this prosecution—even after the Government secured convictions for serious crimes relating to the attack on the Capitol on January 6—are solely the Executive’s. No one should mistake the Court’s granting of the Government’s motion for its agreement with those decisions.

Reactions to the dismissal were swift. Zachary Rehl posted a message on X expressing satisfaction that the matter was finally concluded. Enrique Tarrio, the former Proud Boys leader who also received a Trump pardon, celebrated on the platform, declaring that justice had been served and calling the dismissal a victory for the organization.

President Trump has consistently characterized the January 6 prosecutions as unfair treatment of his supporters, at times referring to incarcerated individuals as hostages. He has described January 6, 2021, as a day marked by love and peace, asserting that his followers posed no threat. These claims contrast with extensive video evidence showing supporters striking police officers with flagpoles, batons, and wooden clubs during confrontations.

In his order, Judge Kelly described the insurrection as a dangerous attack on people, including numerous injured police officers. He noted that the riot targeted Congress, a coordinate branch of government elevated to prominence in Article I of the Constitution. The judge further observed that the attack undermined the constitutional mechanism for the peaceful transition of presidential power, a process President Reagan once called a miracle.

The court’s ruling concludes a significant chapter in the investigation into the Capitol riot, one of the largest federal inquiries in American history. By granting the administration’s request, Judge Kelly allowed the Executive Branch to close this case on its own terms, setting a precedent for how future January 6 prosecutions may be handled under the current administration.