The request, filed by interim U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, would wipe away convictions against 12 high-profile defendants, including Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and several senior Proud Boys members.
Advertisement The DOJ argued in court filings that dismissing the cases falls within the department’s prosecutorial discretion and is consistent with prior federal practice when the government concludes continuing prosecution is no longer in the interests of justice. Advertisement “The government’s motion to vacate in this case is consistent with its practice of moving the Supreme Court to vacate convictions in cases where the government has decided in its prosecutorial discretion that dismissal of a criminal case is in the interests of justice,” prosecutors wrote in the filing signed by Pirro.
The move goes beyond the sweeping clemency action taken by President Donald Trump on the first day of his second term in January 2025, when he pardoned or commuted sentences for more than 1,500 Jan. 6 defendants.
The affected defendants include Rhodes, Kelly Meggs, Kenneth Harrelson, Jessica Watkins, Roberto Minuta, Eduardo Vallejo, Joseph Hackett, David Moerschel, Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl, and Dominic Pezzola
While several Proud Boys and Oath Keepers leaders received sentence commutations at that time, many convictions technically remained in place. The latest DOJ action seeks to permanently erase those convictions altogether, potentially dismissing the indictments with prejudice and preventing future prosecution.
Under the Biden DOJ, prosecutors described the cases as historic victories defending democratic institutions and the peaceful transfer of power.
Defense attorneys for the defendants praised the DOJ’s actions. Nicholas Smith, attorney for Proud Boys defendant Ethan Nordean, said the government made the “wise decision” to seek dismissal.
The reversal represents a stunning shift from the Biden administration’s approach, which treated the prosecutions as a cornerstone effort to hold accountable those accused of orchestrating violence intended to stop the certification of the 2020 presidential election
Critics, however, condemned the move as an attempt to rewrite the history of Jan. 6 and minimize the violence that unfolded at the Capitol.
BREAKING!!!
— Shipwreckedcrew (@shipwreckedcrew) May 21, 2026
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has just now Ordered the convictions the Oath Keeper and Proud Boy defendants be vacated, and that the cases be remanded to the District Court in anticipation of a motion by DOJ To Dismiss. pic.twitter.com/0xMHoAwG22
“I would remind Americans that these were traitors to this country,” Fanone said. “They planned, incited and carried out an insurrection.”
Rhodes had originally been sentenced to 18 years in prison after prosecutors accused him and fellow Oath Keepers members of organizing armed “quick reaction force” teams outside Washington in preparation for potential violence. Prosecutors alleged the group stockpiled firearms at a Virginia hotel, though the weapons were never deployed inside the Capitol.
“We don’t want a precedent that says that any physical confrontation between protesters and law enforcement means a crime akin to treason, such as seditious conspiracy,” Smith said
Former Proud Boys chairman Enrique Tarrio had already received a presidential pardon from Trump last year.