Judge Vacates Proud Boys' Jan. 6 Seditious Conspiracy Convictions

A federal judge on Friday threw out the seditious conspiracy convictions of four Proud Boys leaders whose charges grew out of the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol, acting on a Justice Department motion and an earlier appellate ruling — but not without voicing sharp reservations about doing so.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, a Trump first-term nominee to the federal bench, approved the dismissals for Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl and Dominic Pezzola. In a seven-page memorandum accompanying his ruling, Kelly said there was "little mystery" about why the government sought the dismissals.

"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," Kelly wrote.

Nordean, Biggs and Rehl were convicted of seditious conspiracy in 2023 and sentenced to lengthy prison terms. Pezzola was convicted of assaulting officers, robbery involving government property, obstruction and other charges. Footage that circulated widely captured him using a riot shield to break through a Capitol window — creating what prosecutors described as "the first entry point through which hundreds of rioters streamed into the building."

When Trump returned to office in January 2025, he pardoned roughly 1,500 people charged or convicted in connection with Jan. 6. The four Proud Boys leaders received commutations of their sentences to time served, but their convictions were initially kept in place.

In April, the Justice Department moved to vacate convictions against a dozen former members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, most of whom had been convicted of seditious conspiracy. An appeals court panel approved the vacatur in May and returned the case to Kelly, who said Friday that "it is hard to see how any other course ... could make practical sense."

The dismissals were granted with prejudice — meaning the charges are permanently barred from being refiled.

Kelly was pointed in describing the nature of Jan. 6. "The attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021 was a perilous event," he wrote. "It was an attack on people, including police officers, many of whom were injured. It was an attack on a coordinate branch of government — Congress." He added that the country's "experiment in self-government" depended on Americans working together "to preserve, protect and defend that miracle through our constitutional framework."

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Rehl previously served as leader of the Philadelphia Proud Boys chapter.