Trump-appointed judge dismisses seditious conspiracy convictions of Proud Boys leaders
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U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly granted the Justice Department's request to dismiss the seditious conspiracy convictions of three Proud Boys leaders, noting the motion was driven by political considerations rather than legal merit.
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, a Trump appointee, issued a ruling on Friday granting the Justice Department's motion to dismiss the seditious conspiracy convictions of Proud Boys leaders Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs and Zachary Rehl. The three men had been convicted by a jury of multiple offenses related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, and were sentenced to lengthy prison terms in 2023.
Kelly's seven-page memorandum acknowledged the convictions but said the appellate court had vacated them, and that denying the dismissal would not revive the overturned judgments. He wrote that the request to dismiss was “clearly based not on facts or the law, but on President Trump’s desire to excuse the violence of his supporters.”
"There is little mystery about why the Government is moving to dismiss this case, or whether dismissal is in fact what the Executive seeks," Kelly wrote.
The judge also referenced the broader context of the Capitol assault, describing it as an attack on police, Congress and the constitutional process of peaceful power transfer. He concluded that preserving the nation's democratic framework will require cooperation across partisan lines.
The decision follows a May appellate ruling that sent the case back to Kelly after the Justice Department sought to overturn the convictions. The three men remain convicted, though their sentences were later commuted by President Trump in 2025 as part of a large clemency initiative.