Judge dismisses Jan. 6 conspiracy case against Proud Boys leaders
Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as people try to storm the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 in Washington, DC. Demonstrators breeched security and entered the Capitol as Congress debated the 2020 presidential election Electoral Vo
WASHINGTON - A federal judge granted the Justice Department’s motion to dismiss the January 6 conspiracy case against leaders of the Proud Boys, according to court documents filed Friday.
The move comes after President Donald Trump signed an executive order after taking office in 2025 that shifted the government’s approach to Jan. 6 defendants accused in the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
What we know:
The defendants, Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl, and Dominic Pezzola, were convicted of obstructing law enforcement, destruction of government property and seditious conspiracy stemming from the attack.
However, President Trump’s executive order commuted their sentences and granted full pardons to former Proud Boys chairman Enrique Tarrio, along with hundreds of other individuals who were convicted.
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The executive order also granted them clemency and directed the Attorney General to pursue the dismissal of the cases with prejudice, meaning they cannot be re-filed.
Under the order, the federal government moved to dismiss the cases in April. On Friday, the judge granted that motion.
What they're saying:
The court noted that the dismissal is an extension of the administration's sweeping clemency policies.
"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," the court document reads. "The Government’s request to dismiss this case is consistent with that general approach."
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The court motion further highlights that the decision standardizes the administration's blanket policy toward January 6 defendants, erasing distinctions based on the gravity of the offenses or when the prosecutions began.
"The Government’s motion is at this point a request to treat this case essentially the same way it has all January 6 cases, without regard for the seriousness of the conduct at issue," the document states.
The Source: This information is from federal court documents and past FOX5 DC reporting.