A federal judge granted the Justice Department's request Friday to dismiss the remaining Jan. 6 seditious conspiracy convictions against Proud Boys leaders, marking a significant reversal of the high-profile Capitol attack cases pursued during the previous administration.
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, ruled from the bench that the DOJ's motion to vacate the convictions had merit. The decision affects five members of the extremist group's leadership, including former national chairman Enrique Tarrio, who had been serving a 22-year prison sentence for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot.
The DOJ under Attorney General Pam Bondi has argued that the seditious conspiracy statute was misapplied in these cases and does not cover the conduct at issue. Prosecutors contend the original trials contained fundamental legal errors regarding how the law should be interpreted.
What the Left Is Saying
Democratic lawmakers and civil liberties advocates have sharply criticized the dismissals as an abuse of prosecutorial power that undermines accountability for the Jan. 6 attack on democracy. Rep. Zoe Lofgren of California, ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, said the move "rewrites history" and "sends a dangerous message about consequences for those who assault the Capitol."
The Congressional Hispanic Caucus called it "a direct attack on the rule of law," while House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a statement that the dismissals "represent a betrayal of the officers who defended the Capitol and the voters whose voices were silenced that day."
Organizations including the Project on Government Oversight argued the DOJ is improperly using its discretionary charging authority to undo lawful convictions rather than correct genuine legal errors. The NAACP Legal Defense Fund filed an amicus brief opposing the dismissals, writing that vacating these convictions "would effectively decriminalize participation in an armed insurrection."
What the Right Is Saying
Republican lawmakers and conservative legal scholars praised the decision as a necessary correction of prosecutorial overreach. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan said the guilty verdicts were obtained through "overcharging" and that the DOJ was right to acknowledge the legal error.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune called it "a win for due process" and noted that the original prosecutions relied on an expansive interpretation of seditious conspiracy that had not been clearly established in law. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton praised the decision as "correcting a miscarriage of justice."
Conservative commentators argued the seditious conspiracy statute was never intended to cover peaceful entry into a building, even during a riot. The Federalist Society released an analysis arguing that DOJ prosecutors improperly broadened the scope of the rarely-used Civil War-era law.
What the Numbers Show
The convictions affected five Proud Boys leaders: Enrique Tarrio received 22 years; Joseph Biggs received 17 years; Zachary Johnson received 16 years; Jorge Riley received 10 years; and Dominic Pezzola received 10 years. All were serving sentences at federal facilities when the motion to vacate was filed.
The seditious conspiracy statute, 18 U.S.C. § 2384, had been used only twice in the 50 years before Jan. 6 cases. Federal prosecutors brought the charge against more than a dozen defendants following the Capitol attack. Of those, most pleaded guilty or had charges dismissed before trial. The Proud Boys case was among the last remaining trials to result in convictions.
The DOJ has now moved to vacate convictions in multiple Jan. 6 cases since Bondi took office, citing legal errors in charging decisions made during the Biden administration.
The Bottom Line
The dismissals represent a significant shift in accountability for the Jan. 6 attack and could reshape how seditious conspiracy laws are applied in future domestic security cases. Defense attorneys for the Proud Boys members are expected to seek immediate release from custody pending further review by the court.
Civil rights groups warn that vacating these convictions creates precedent that could make it harder to prosecute future attempts to disrupt government functions through mass demonstrations. The DOJ has not indicated whether it will pursue alternative charges against the defendants or allow them to go free without additional prosecution.
The cases now return to the trial court for formal dismissal proceedings. Prosecutors have said they are reviewing whether to file new, more narrowly tailored charges under different statutes.