Federal prosecutors ask appeals court to erase high-profile convictions after prior sentence commutations.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
The Department of Justice has moved to dismiss seditious conspiracy convictions tied to the Jan. 6 cases involving members of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys, requesting that a federal appeals court vacate the judgments, according to reporting from the Associated Press.
The filing was submitted to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and includes the case of Stewart Rhodes, founder of the Oath Keepers.
President Donald Trump had previously commuted the sentences of more than 1,500 individuals affiliated with the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, including several leaders. The latest move by prosecutors goes beyond sentence reductions by seeking to formally erase the underlying convictions.
In the court filing, prosecutors said the request aligns with established legal practice when the government determines that dismissing a case serves the interests of justice.
“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,” prosecutors wrote.
The motion covers multiple individuals convicted in connection with the cases. Among those named are Proud Boys members Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl, and Dominic Pezzola, as well as Oath Keepers members Kelly Meggs, Kenneth Harrelson, and Jessica Watkins.
If granted, the request would nullify the convictions issued in federal court, marking a significant legal development in cases stemming from the Jan. 6 prosecutions.
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