A federal judge expressed deep disapproval Tuesday as he granted the Justice Department's request to dismiss the case against Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and other members of the far-right group convicted for their roles in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta stated he was granting the motion "reluctantly."
Mehta had previously sentenced Rhodes, who was convicted of seditious conspiracy, to 18 years in prison. Rhodes and other Oath Keepers members were among the few Jan. 6 defendants not granted a full pardon by then-President Donald Trump at the start of his second term. Rhodes' sentence was commuted at the time.
The judge wrote that the dismissal "diminishes the gravity of that day, denigrates the work of the prosecutors and law enforcement officers who secured these convictions, and excuses criminal acts that caused a centuries-long pillar of our democracy — the peaceful transfer of presidential power — to buckle."
Mehta clarified that he lacked the authority to deny the prosecutor's request, noting, "The court cannot write a different ending." He added, "If it is their view that the public interest is served by surrendering convictions for crimes against the country to the gloss of an enduring public record, then that is an assessment to which this court must yield."
The judge highlighted that the Justice Department did not claim the charges were legally deficient or that the evidence was insufficient to support the convictions. Nor did they point to any legal error that led to an unfair trial or wrongful conviction. "Remarkably, then, the government does not maintain that dismissal is in the public interest to rectify a fundamental error or a grave injustice," Mehta wrote. "Its lead argument is rather that dismissal is appropriate to protect Defendants from harassment."
Mehta, appointed by President Barack Obama, concluded that the Justice Department had given Rhodes and his allies "unearned grace by wiping their records clean." He stated, "This is the last of the prosecutions seeking to hold accountable those responsible for the events of January 6. That book is now closed."