Judge Vacates Seditious Conspiracy Convictions of Three Proud Boys Members After Trump Clemency

U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly granted the Department of Justice's request to vacate the seditious conspiracy convictions of Proud Boys members Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl and Dominic Pezzola on July 10, 2026. Kelly dismissed the indictment with prejudice, permanently barring the federal government from bringing the same charges against the four men again.

Kelly, an appointee of President Donald Trump, issued a seven-page memorandum explaining the decision. The ruling came after the Justice Department asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in April to vacate the convictions and remand the case for dismissal.

The appeals court granted that request in May. President Trump commuted the sentences of Nordean, Biggs, Rehl and Pezzola and issued a full pardon to former Proud Boys chairman Enrique Tarrio. Nordean, Biggs and Rehl were convicted in 2023 of seditious conspiracy and other felonies tied to the January 6, 2021, Capitol events.

Pezzola was acquitted of seditious conspiracy but convicted of multiple other felonies, including assaulting police officers and destroying government property after using a stolen police shield to break a Capitol window. Kelly wrote that the executive branch holds primacy in criminal charging decisions. “The Executive’s primacy in criminal charging decisions is long settled,” he stated.

He added that no one should mistake the court’s granting of the motion for agreement with the administration’s decisions. Kelly also noted President Trump’s known views on the prosecutions. “President Trump’s views about the prosecution of those who attacked the U.S.