Justice Department Policy

The Justice Department has asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to vacate seditious‑conspiracy convictions and dismiss indictments with prejudice for a group of Proud Boys and Oath Keepers leaders after President Trump commuted several of their sentences in January 2025 (commutations were issued Jan. 20, 2025). The filings, signed by a U.S. attorney cited in court papers, name high‑profile defendants including Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and Proud Boys members Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl and Dominic Pezzola, as well as Oath Keepers Kelly Meggs, Kenneth Harrelson and Jessica Watkins; reporting indicates the DOJ motion covers a discrete set of roughly a dozen specific defendants and is limited to those whose sentences were commuted rather than to those who received full pardons. DOJ officials argue the request is consistent with past practice of seeking vacatur when the government decides dismissal is in the “interests of justice,” and the motions explicitly seek dismissal with prejudice so the charges could not be refiled.