Judge dismisses Proud Boys case but issues blunt warning to Trump

A federal judge has dismissed the remaining seditious conspiracy case against four senior members of the Proud Boys at the request of the Justice Department, but used his ruling to deliver a stark warning about the January 6 Capitol attack and President Donald Trump's sweeping use of pardons.

U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly said he was legally required to grant prosecutors' request to throw out the charges, even though he made clear he strongly disagreed with the circumstances surrounding the decision.

Judge says law left him no choice

Judge Kelly, who was appointed by Trump during his first term, said long-standing Supreme Court precedent gives prosecutors broad discretion to abandon criminal cases, even after convictions have been secured.

While granting the motion, he stressed that the January 6 attack remained one of the most serious assaults on American democracy in modern history.

"It was an attack on people, including police officers," Kelly wrote. "It was an attack on a coordinate branch of government... And it was an attack on the Constitution's mechanism to facilitate the peaceful transfer of power from one president to the next."

Charges wiped away

The ruling clears the remaining charges against Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl and Dominic Pezzola, all leading figures in the Proud Boys who were prosecuted over their roles in the storming of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.

The riot, which sought to prevent Congress from certifying Joe Biden's 2020 election victory, left more than 140 police officers injured and caused an estimated $3 million in damage.

The dismissals mark another major step in the Trump administration's effort to dismantle what became the largest criminal investigation in Justice Department history.

Trump's pardons reshape January 6 cases

After returning to office, Trump issued pardons to more than 1,500 people charged over the Capitol riot.

Initially, several Proud Boys and Oath Keepers leaders received sentence commutations rather than full pardons because of their convictions for seditious conspiracy.

However, the Justice Department has since sought to have those convictions vacated altogether, arguing that dismissing the cases is now "in the interests of justice."

The department has also moved to overturn other January 6-related convictions, including that of former Proud Boys chairman Enrique Tarrio.

Justice Department under scrutiny

The dismissals have fuelled criticism from opponents who argue the administration is attempting to rewrite the history of January 6.

The Justice Department has removed hundreds of press releases detailing riot prosecutions from its website, describing them as "partisan propaganda."

Officials say they are reversing what they regard as the political weaponisation of federal law enforcement under the previous administration, while critics argue the moves undermine accountability for one of the most significant attacks on U.S. democratic institutions in recent history.

Warning for the future

Although Judge Kelly acknowledged he was bound by the law to dismiss the case, he concluded his ruling with a broader warning about the future of American democracy.

Quoting President Ronald Reagan's remarks on the peaceful transfer of power, Kelly wrote that preserving the Constitution ultimately rests with the American people rather than the courts.

"If this Nation's experiment in self-government is to last another 250 years," he wrote, "the American people—no matter their partisan preferences—will have to act together to preserve, protect and defend that miracle through our constitutional framework."

The ruling closes another major chapter in the legal aftermath of January 6, but the political debate surrounding the Capitol riot and the legacy of Trump's pardons shows little sign of ending.

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