A federal judge has dismissed the remaining charges in the seditious conspiracy case against four leaders of the far-right Proud Boys group. The ruling, issued late Friday, stems from President Donald Trump's broad use of presidential clemency.
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, who was nominated by Trump, stated that the government had no basis to preserve the convictions after Trump's clemency actions last year. The judge noted that Trump's views on prosecuting those involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack were well-known, as was his intention to extend clemency to them.
Kelly, however, clarified that his order does not endorse the Justice Department's decision to abandon the case. He referred to the Capitol riot as a "perilous event" and an assault on the peaceful transfer of power, emphasizing the need to preserve the nation's experiment in self-government.
Juries had previously convicted leaders of the Proud Boys and the antigovernment Oath Keepers of orchestrating plots to keep Trump in power after he lost the 2020 presidential election to Democrat Joe Biden. The ruling on Friday specifically applied to Proud Boys members Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl, and Dominic Pezzola. While Trump commuted their prison sentences, these four were not covered by the president's mass pardons.
Another Proud Boys leader, former national chairman Enrique Tarrio, was convicted in the same trial and had previously received a pardon from Trump. Kelly had sentenced Tarrio to 22 years, the longest prison term handed down in any Capitol riot case. A different judge has yet to rule on a related Justice Department request to dismiss the seditious conspiracy convictions of the Oath Keepers.