The U.S. Department of Justice filed a request with a federal appeals court on Tuesday to dismiss the seditious conspiracy convictions of leaders from the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers. These leaders had been sentenced to prison for their roles in inciting members of these far-right extremist groups to attack the U.S. Capitol over five years ago in an effort to maintain Donald Trump as president.
In January 2025, Trump granted clemency to numerous leaders of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, among the 1,500-plus defendants charged in the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack. The Justice Department’s recent request aims to go a step further by wiping out the convictions of these extremist group leaders, including Stewart Rhodes, the founder of the Oath Keepers.
Prosecutors have petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to vacate these convictions, allowing the government to permanently dismiss the indictments. This move aligns with the Justice Department’s practice of seeking to vacate convictions when it deems dismissal of a criminal case to be in the best interest of justice.
The Proud Boys and Oath Keepers leaders were found guilty by juries in Washington, D.C., for orchestrating violent schemes to obstruct the peaceful transition of power following Trump’s defeat in the 2020 election to President Joe Biden.
This decision marks a significant shift from the previous administration’s stance. The Biden administration had previously celebrated these convictions as a crucial step in holding those accountable for what was described as an assault on American democracy. The current move is seen as part of ongoing efforts by the Trump administration to alter the narrative of the January 6 attack and diminish the severity of the violence carried out by Trump supporters.
The Justice Department’s dismissal request also encompasses the convictions of other members from these extremist groups, including Kelly Meggs, Kenneth Harrelson, Jessica Watkins, Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl, and Dominic Pezzola. Some, like former Proud Boys chairman Enrique Tarrio, were pardoned by Trump at the start of his second term in office.
Rhodes, along with several accomplices, was handed an 18-year sentence for their involvement in one of the most significant cases arising from the Capitol attack. Prosecutors revealed that Rhodes and his followers had amassed firearms at a Virginia hotel for potential use by “quick reaction force” teams, although these weapons were never put into action.
Nicholas Smith, the attorney for Nordean, expressed gratitude to the Justice Department for their decision to seek the dismissal of the convictions, emphasizing the importance of avoiding setting a precedent equating any physical clash between protesters and law enforcement with seditious conspiracy or treason.
Former Metropolitan police officer Michael Fanone expressed disappointment but not surprise at what he views as another attempt by the Trump administration to revise the events of January 6. Fanone, who was assaulted by rioters during the Capitol attack and suffered a heart attack, labeled the perpetrators as traitors to the nation, accusing them of planning, inciting, and executing an insurrection.