PEZZOLA

SEE PARDON

SEE TICKTIN

TARRIO

---

MSN = FOX?!

NO LNX

A Trump-appointed federal judge on Friday reluctantly dismissed the Jan. 6 prosecution of four Proud Boys members, saying the law left him no authority to block the Justice Department's request.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly granted the Justice Department's motion to dismiss the case with prejudice against Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl and Dominic Pezzola after a federal appeals court had already vacated their convictions.

Sponsored

call to action icon

In a seven-page opinion, Kelly said longstanding separation-of-powers principles leave charging decisions to the executive branch, meaning he could not require the Justice Department to maintain a prosecution it had decided to drop.

"Because the decisions to issue the Executive Order and to abandon this prosecution—even after the Government secured convictions for serious crimes relating to the attack on the Capitol on January 6—are solely the Executive's, no one should mistake the Court's granting of the Government's motion for its agreement with those decisions," Kelly wrote.

Pezzola, who was convicted of assaulting police, robbery and destroying government property, was found guilty of stealing a Capitol Police riot shield before using it to smash a Capitol window, creating what prosecutors said was the first breach point through which hundreds of rioters entered the building. He was acquitted of seditious conspiracy but convicted on multiple other felony counts.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

Meanwhile, Nordean, Biggs and Rehl were convicted of seditious conspiracy and several other felonies related to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, including conspiracy to obstruct Congress' certification of the 2020 presidential election, obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder and destruction of government property.

The Justice Department first moved in April to vacate the convictions and dismiss the case against the four men, arguing that doing so was "in the interests of justice" in light of President Donald Trump's Jan. 20, 2025, executive order commuting their sentences and issuing full pardons to former Proud Boys Chairman Enrique Tarrio and hundreds of other Jan. 6 defendants. The D.C. Circuit had already erased the men's convictions before returning the case to Kelly's courtroom to consider the Justice Department's request to dismiss the indictment. HUH?

call to action icon

"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. "President 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."

Kelly cited longstanding precedent holding that charging decisions belong to the executive branch and that judges cannot reject a dismissal simply because they disagree with the government's reasoning.

And because the convictions had already been vacated and prosecutors have broad authority to decide whether to pursue criminal charges, Kelly said he lacked the power to force the Justice Department to continue the prosecution.

"Indeed, it is hard to see how any course other than granting the motion in full could make practical sense. Denying the motion would not somehow revive the convictions that the Court of Appeals vacated," Kelly wrote. "Nor would denying it mean a retrial would follow, because the Court lacks the authority to compel the Executive to pursue a prosecution, full stop—but especially when an executive order explicitly requires that the Government seek dismissal with prejudice."

But Kelly sharply rebuked the actions of the Jan. 6 rioters, calling it an attack on the people, Congress, and the "Constitution's mechanism to facilitate the peaceful transfer of power."

"Moving forward, if this Nation's experiment in self-government is to last another 250 years, the American people—no matter their partisan preferences—will have to act together to preserve, protect and defend that miracle through our constitutional framework," Kelly wrote.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Tarrio, who was also pardoned for criminal charges stemming from his role in the Jan. 6 riots, celebrated Kelly's dismissal on X.

"We took the worst they threw at us the raids, the solitary, the lies and we stood tall," Tarrio wrote. "Trump dropped the pardons and now the rest is crumbling. Justice is SERVED! Proud Boys don't lose. We WIN. This is OUR victory. THANK YOU PRESIDENT DONALD J TRUMP and all of you that fought for us!"

Original article source: Trump-appointed judge permanently ends Proud Boys Jan. 6 case, says Constitution left him no choice

Man charged with planting pipe bombs before the Jan. 6 riot argues Trump's mass pardons apply to him

Brawl erupts in Turkey's parliament over justice minister appointment

“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 in a court filing signed by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro.

Juries in Washington, D.C., convicted the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers leaders of orchestrating violent plots to stop the peaceful transfer of power after Trump’s 2020 election loss to Democratic President Joe Biden.

The department’s dismissal request also includes the convictions of Oath Keepers members Kelly Meggs, Kenneth Harrelson and Jessica Watkins and Proud Boys members Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl and Dominic Pezzola.

Other extremist group members, including former Proud Boys national chairman Enrique Tarrio, received pardons from Trump on the first day of his second term in the White House.

Rhodes was sentenced to 18 years in prison after he and several lieutenants were convicted in one of the most consequential cases arising from the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters.

Prosecutors said Rhodes and his followers stockpiled guns for possible use by “quick reaction force” teams at a Virginia hotel, but they never deployed the weapons.

Nordean’s attorney, Nicholas Smith, said they are grateful to the Justice Department for its “wise decision” in seeking dismissal of the convictions.

“We don’t want a precedent that says that any physical confrontation between protesters and law enforcement means a crime akin to treason, such as seditious conspiracy,” Smith said.

Former Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone, who was dragged into the mob and suffered a heart attack after a rioter shocked him with a stun gun, was disappointed but not surprised by the latest milestone in the dismantling of Capitol riot prosecutions.

“I would remind Americans that these were traitors to this country,” Fanone said. “They planned, incited and carried out an insurrection.”

ALANNA DURKIN RICHER

Richer covers the Justice Department and federal courts. She joined The AP in 2013 and is based in Washington.

---

FBI AFID

Joseph%20Randall%20Biggs%20Affidavit%20in%20Support%20of%20Criminal%20Complaint

One such video depicts an individual, now identified as Proud Boys member Dominic Pezzola, breaking the window of the U.S. Capitol Building with a clear plastic shield at approximately 2:13 p.m.3 Shortly after the glass in the window is broken, an unidentified individual can be heard yelling words to the effect of, “Go, Go, Go!” Several individuals enter the building through the broken window, including Pezzola. A nearby door was opened and a crowd of people began to enter the U.S. Capitol. 27. I have reviewed video footage that was live streamed on the social media site Parler on January 6, 2021. One of those clips shows what I believe to be people entering the Capitol shortly after the events described in the preceding paragraph. One of those individuals, who entered the door within 20 seconds of its opening, is a person that I believe to be BIGGS. In the video, a voice off camera says, “Hey Biggs, what do you gotta say?” The person depicted below smiles broadly and replies, “this is awesome!” before pulling his gaiter up to cover his face. 3 Dominic Pezzola (“PEZZOLA”) has been charged by criminal complaint

DoJ pardon attorney

On May 13, 2025 Martin announced he would serve as the pardon attorney, vowing to review the Biden administration's outgoing pardons.^[27] He also announced that he would head a "Weaponization Working Group" within the United States Department of Justice, saying, "When it comes to the problem of weaponization. . . . that's what the Biden administration, they didn't tell you what they were doing they just targeted people," and "if they can be charged, we'll charge them. But if they can't be charged, we will name them . . . and in a culture that respects shame, they should be people that are ashamed."^[28] On May 22, he met with Peter Ticktin of the American Rights Alliance. Ticktin recommended full pardons for Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes; for Proud Boys members Joseph Biggs, Ethan Nordean, Zachary Rehl, and Dominic Pezzola; and for Dan Wilson and Elias Costianes, former January 6 defendants who are currently in prison for unrelated charges.^[84] Separately, in a podcast episode that aired May 22, Martin said of the two men convicted of plotting in 2020 to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer: "we can't leave these guys behind".^[85] On May 26, Martin described the rationale for granting pardons as "No MAGA left behind".^[86]