The U.S. Department of Justice has requested that a federal appellate judge reverse the convictions of members from extreme right-wing organizations, the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers, who were previously convicted of seditious conspiracy linked to the violent events at the U.S. Capitol in January 2021.
On Tuesday, Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia appointed by Donald Trump, filed separate motions to annul the convictions of several individuals, including the leaders of the Proud Boys, Ethan Nordean and Joseph Biggs, along with Stewart Rhodes, the founder of the Oath Keepers militia.
This filing reflects the Trump administration’s latest effort to exonerate those involved in the January 6 insurrection, predominantly supporters of the former president who attempted to disrupt the certification of Joe Biden’s electoral victory over Trump in the 2020 election.
Numerous members from these far-right groups received prison sentences for their roles in obstructing the peaceful transition of power. Notably, Enrique Tarrio, the former chairman of the Proud Boys, was sentenced to a lengthy 22 years in prison.
Nonetheless, Tarrio was released in January 2025, when Trump, on his first day of a second term, granted extensive pardons and commutations to approximately 1,600 individuals charged in connection with the Capitol riot. Several leaders of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers received clemency as part of this initiative.
The recent motion aims to clear these convictions from the defendants’ records.
This action to vacate the convictions marks a significant shift from the Biden administration’s stance, which had regarded the guilty verdicts as an essential achievement in holding accountable those who participated in what prosecutors characterized as an assault on American democracy. The Trump administration has attempted to reshape the narrative surrounding the insurrection, framing the rioters as patriotic individuals and peaceful demonstrators exploited by political adversaries while perpetuating unfounded claims of widespread electoral fraud.
A statement on the White House’s website from January 6 asserts, “In truth, it was the Democrats who staged the real insurrection by certifying a fraud-ridden election, ignoring widespread irregularities, and weaponizing federal agencies to hunt down dissenters.”
According to a bipartisan Senate report from 2021 that assessed the security response to the January 6 events, over 100 law enforcement personnel were injured during the chaos, including one officer who suffered a heart attack after being tased and another who was stabbed with a metal fence stake. Tragically, four officers who responded to the insurrection later died by suicide.
The Associated Press also contributed to this report.
