DOJ Moves to Dismiss Seditious Conspiracy Convictions of Oath Keepers and Proud Boys Leaders

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department on April 14, 2026, asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to vacate and permanently dismiss seditious conspiracy convictions against leaders of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys from the January 6, 2021, Capitol events.

The filing covers Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes (sentenced to 18 years), Kelly Meggs, Kenneth Harrelson, and Jessica Watkins, plus Proud Boys members Ethan Nordean (18 years), Joseph Biggs (17 years), Zachary Rehl (15 years), and Dominic Pezzola. Enrique Tarrio, former Proud Boys chairman, already received a full pardon from President Trump.

Initial charges in 2021-2022 accused the groups of seditious conspiracy under 18 U.S.C. § 2384 — plotting to oppose the U.S. government by force to block certification of the 2020 election results. Prosecutors alleged Rhodes and Oath Keepers stockpiled weapons for “quick reaction force” teams and coordinated with Proud Boys via encrypted chats. No weapons were deployed at the Capitol. Juries convicted the leaders after separate 2022-2023 trials in D.C. federal court on seditious conspiracy plus related counts like obstructing an official proceeding.

Trump commuted their prison sentences on his first day in office in January 2025 as part of clemency for over 1,500 January 6 defendants, but convictions remained on record pending appeals. Prosecutors wrote in a court filing signed by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro that "The government’s motion to vacate in this case is consistent with its practice of moving the Supreme Court to vacate convictions in cases where the government has decided in its prosecutorial discretion that dismissal of a criminal case is in the interests of justice — motions that the Supreme Court routinely grants".

For the men and their families who spent years behind bars, the move ends what supporters call years of selective prosecution for supporting election integrity. The cases marked the first seditious conspiracy convictions in decades.