A significant legal case stemming from the January 6 Capitol attack came to a close when a federal judge dismissed the Proud Boys sedition charges with prejudice, effectively nullifying the convictions of key defendants and preventing any retrial. The ruling followed a request from the Justice Department to abandon the prosecution.
U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump, ruled that he lacked the authority to compel the executive branch to continue the case against Proud Boys leaders Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl, and Dominic Pezzola. This decision wiped out the seditious conspiracy convictions tied to one of the most prominent prosecutions of the Capitol breach in 2023.
The Proud Boys had been accused of acting as an organized "fighting force" during the assault on the Capitol, with specific allegations against Pezzola for breaking a Senate-wing window using a stolen police riot shield, which helped breach the building. The six-month trial had been a centerpiece of the Biden administration’s efforts to hold accountable those behind the violent events of January 6, 2021.
The dismissal marks a major reversal for prosecutions related to the Capitol riot. Because it is with prejudice, the charges against the defendants cannot be reinstated by any future Justice Department. This departure from previous efforts fits within a broader change following Donald Trump’s return to office, during which he granted pardons or commutations to numerous individuals convicted for their roles in the attack, including the Proud Boys leadership and Enrique Tarrio, the group's national chair.
In 2026, the Justice Department explicitly sought to vacate sedition convictions against the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, framing the earlier prosecutions as politically motivated under the Biden administration and asserting prosecutorial discretion to end those cases. Judge Kelly’s dismissal closed one of the last major legal proceedings stemming from the Capitol insurrection, a case that had tested the limits of federal authority to charge organized political violence aimed at overturning a presidential election.