Power Grab/Fire anyone who can stop him
A federal judge dismisses the Proud Boys seditious-conspiracy case with prejudice on the Justice Department’s motion
Judge Timothy Kelly wrote that the court “lacks the authority to compel the Executive to pursue a prosecution.” He added that the ruling should not be read as agreement.
What happened
On July 10, 2026, U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly dismissed with prejudice the seditious-conspiracy case against Proud Boys leaders Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl and Dominic Pezzola. He granted a Justice Department motion filed in April. The D.C. Circuit, at the government’s request, had vacated the 2023 convictions in May.
Kelly wrote that the court “lacks the authority to compel the Executive to pursue a prosecution” and that “there is little mystery about why the Government is moving to dismiss this case.” He added that the ruling should not be read as agreement with the government.
Trump had commuted the four men’s sentences on January 20, 2025, pardoned Enrique Tarrio, and directed the attorney general to seek dismissal. Tarrio had received 22 years, the longest January 6 sentence. The commutations left the convictions on the books and the appeals running, until the Justice Department abandoned them.
Who benefited
The Proud Boys leaders saw seditious-conspiracy convictions, the most serious verdicts to come out of January 6, erased rather than merely excused. Trump’s pardons had left the convictions standing as a record. The dismissal removed that record too.
Who wanted something
Trump set the process in motion with the January 20, 2025 proclamation, which also directed the attorney general to seek dismissal with prejudice of pending January 6 cases. The Justice Department under Pam Bondi chose to abandon the convictions on appeal rather than defend a verdict that career prosecutors had won.
Who lost out
Jurors, prosecutors and the Capitol Police officers who testified in a four-month trial saw the verdict undone when the executive branch switched sides. The legal record that an organized conspiracy to stop the transfer of power occurred lost its standing as well.
Why it matters
A pardon forgives, while a dismissal on the government’s own motion says the prosecution should not have happened. By asking the courts to vacate the verdicts, the Justice Department turned clemency for Trump’s supporters into a repudiation of the case against them. The judge said he could not stop it.
Sources Washington ExaminerNewsweekFOX 5 DCThe White House (primary)The Guardian