Judge Dismisses the Remaining Proud Boys January 6 Convictions With Prejudice

U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly on July 10, 2026, granted a Justice Department motion to dismiss with prejudice the case against four Proud Boys leaders convicted in connection with the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol: Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl and Dominic Pezzola. Three had been convicted of seditious conspiracy in 2023; Pezzola was acquitted of that count but convicted of other felonies. The dismissal followed the January 20, 2025 clemency proclamation, which commuted their sentences and directed the attorney general to pursue dismissal with prejudice of pending January 6 cases, and a Justice Department motion this year to vacate the convictions.

Kelly, a Trump appointee who presided over the original trial, wrote that "in light of fundamental separation of powers principles ... the proper course here is for the Court simply to grant the motion in full," adding that "no one should mistake the Court's granting of the Government's motion for its agreement" and that "the court lacks the authority to compel the Executive to pursue a prosecution." The case was among the most significant brought after the Capitol attack, and the dismissal with prejudice bars any future federal administration from refiling the same charges.

The dismissal is final as to those counts. It does not disturb the jury's factual findings, but it removes the convictions from the record.