The U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly has dismissed the Jan. 6 prosecution of four Proud Boys members, citing the law's separation-of-powers principles.
The court had previously vacated the convictions of Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl, and Dominic Pezzola, who were convicted of various felonies related to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.
In a seven-page opinion, Kelly stated that charging decisions belong to the executive branch and that he could not require the Justice Department to maintain a prosecution it had decided to drop.
The Justice Department had initially moved to vacate the convictions and dismiss the case, arguing that doing so was in the interests of justice in light of President Donald Trump's executive order commuting sentences and issuing full pardons to former Proud Boys Chairman Enrique Tarrio and hundreds of other Jan. 6 defendants.
Kelly cited longstanding precedent holding that charging decisions belong to the executive branch, and because the convictions had already been vacated, he lacked the power to force the Justice Department to continue the prosecution.
The court's decision to dismiss the case with prejudice was based on the principle that judges cannot reject a dismissal simply because they disagree with the government's reasoning.
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.
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.
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, Kelly emphasized the importance of preserving, protecting, and defending the Constitution's framework to ensure the Nation's experiment in self-government lasts.
Tarrio celebrated Kelly's dismissal on X, thanking President Donald Trump and all those who fought for the Proud Boys' cause.
