A federal judge on July 10 granted the Justice Department’s (DOJ) motion to dismiss the convictions of four Proud Boys members over their roles in the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol breach.
In a seven-page memorandum, U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly said he would throw out the case against Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl, and Dominic Pezzola, finding that the court had no grounds to deny the government’s motion to dismiss it with prejudice.
“There is little mystery about why the government is moving to dismiss this case, or whether dismissal is in fact what the executive seeks,” the judge wrote.
“President [Donald] Trump’s views about the prosecution of those who attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6–whether those views are based on fact or fiction—are well known, as is his intention to extend clemency to them through the executive order.”
According to court documents, all four defendants had been convicted of “serious crimes” related to the breach of the Capitol, including seditious conspiracy, conspiracy to prevent an officer from discharging their duties, obstruction of law enforcement during a civil order, and destruction of government property.
Pezzola was not convicted of seditious conspiracy but was found guilty of the other charges, as well as assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers, robbery of U.S. personal property, and destruction of government property for breaking a window.
