{"id":4247,"date":"2026-07-12T10:26:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-12T05:26:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=4247"},"modified":"2026-07-12T10:26:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-12T05:26:18","slug":"trump-appointed-judge-dismisses-jan-6-prosecution-of-four-proud-boys","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=4247","title":{"rendered":"Trump-appointed judge dismisses Jan 6 prosecution of four Proud Boys"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div id=\"beyondwords-wrapper\" data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"beyondwords-wrapper\">\n<p><span class=\"label-bg\">NEW<\/span>You can now listen to Fox News articles!\n  <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"speakable\">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&#8217;s request.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"speakable\">U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly granted <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_2119849\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/politics\/justice-department\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the Justice Department&#8217;s motion<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">In a <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_2119850\" href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.dcd.228300\/gov.uscourts.dcd.228300.1098.0.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">seven-page opinion<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n<div data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"image-ct inline\">\n<div class=\"m\"><picture><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/343\/192\/AP21069027101759.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/686\/384\/AP21069027101759.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"192\" width=\"343\"><source media=\"(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1023px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/672\/378\/AP21069027101759.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/1344\/756\/AP21069027101759.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"378\" width=\"672\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/931\/523\/AP21069027101759.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/1862\/1046\/AP21069027101759.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"523\" width=\"931\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1280px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/720\/405\/AP21069027101759.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/1440\/810\/AP21069027101759.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"405\" width=\"720\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/1200\/675\/AP21069027101759.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1\" alt=\"9c229f6a-Capitol Breach Extremist Plots\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n<div class=\"info\">\n<div class=\"caption\">\n<p><span>In this Jan. 6, 2021, photo, rioters, including Dominic Pezzola, in center with police shield, are confronted by U.S. Capitol Police officers outside the Senate Chamber inside the Capitol Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington.\u00a0<\/span> <span>(AP Photo\/Manuel Balce Ceneta)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_2119851\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/us\/doj-seeks-vacate-jan-6-convictions-sweeping-move-trump-order\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>DOJ SEEKS TO VACATE JAN 6 CONVICTIONS IN SWEEPING MOVE TIED TO TRUMP ORDER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;Because the decisions to issue the Executive Order and to abandon this prosecution \u2014 even after the Government secured convictions for serious crimes relating to the attack on the Capitol on January 6 \u2014 are solely the Executive&#8217;s, no one should mistake the Court&#8217;s granting of the Government&#8217;s motion for its agreement with those decisions,&#8221; Kelly wrote.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">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.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Nordean, Biggs and Rehl were convicted of seditious conspiracy and several other felonies related to <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_2119852\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/tag\/capitol-protests\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the Jan. 6 Capitol attack<\/a>, including conspiracy to obstruct Congress&#8217; certification of the 2020 presidential election, obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder and destruction of government property.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_2119853\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/former-indiana-rep-stephen-buyer-receives-full-pardon-trump-2023-insider-trading-conviction\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>FORMER INDIANA REP STEPHEN BUYER RECEIVES FULL PARDON FROM TRUMP FOR 2023 INSIDER TRADING CONVICTION<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">The Justice Department first moved in April to vacate the convictions and dismiss the case against the four men, arguing that doing so was &#8220;in the interests of justice&#8221; in light of President Donald Trump&#8217;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.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_2119854\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/politics\/judiciary\/federal-courts\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The D.C. Circuit had<\/a> already erased the men&#8217;s convictions before returning the case to Kelly&#8217;s courtroom to consider the Justice Department&#8217;s request to dismiss the indictment.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;There is little mystery about why the Government is moving to dismiss this case, or whether dismissal is in fact what the Executive seeks,&#8221; Kelly wrote. &#8220;President Trump&#8217;s views about the prosecution of those who attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6 \u2014 whether those views are based on fact or fiction \u2014 are well known, as is his intention to extend clemency to them.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Kelly <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_2119855\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/politics\/judiciary\/precedents\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">cited longstanding precedent holding<\/a> that charging decisions belong to the executive branch and that judges cannot reject a dismissal simply because they disagree with the government&#8217;s reasoning.<\/p>\n<div data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"image-ct inline\">\n<div class=\"m\"><picture><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/343\/192\/AP23115076191937.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/686\/384\/AP23115076191937.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"192\" width=\"343\"><source media=\"(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1023px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/672\/378\/AP23115076191937.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/1344\/756\/AP23115076191937.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"378\" width=\"672\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/931\/523\/AP23115076191937.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/1862\/1046\/AP23115076191937.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"523\" width=\"931\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1280px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/720\/405\/AP23115076191937.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/1440\/810\/AP23115076191937.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"405\" width=\"720\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/1200\/675\/AP23115076191937.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1\" alt=\"Proud Boys chairman Enrique Tarrio\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n<div class=\"info\">\n<div class=\"caption\">\n<p><span>Proud Boys Chairman Enrique Tarrio rallies in Portland, Ore., on Aug. 17, 2019. Tarrio and three other members of the far-right extremist group were convicted of a plot to attack the U.S. Capitol in a desperate bid to keep Donald Trump in power after Trump lost the 2020 presidential election.<\/span> <span>(AP Photo\/Noah Berger, File)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_2119856\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/legal-war-trumps-agenda-gains-firepower-federal-lawyers-defect-democrats\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>LEGAL WAR ON TRUMP\u2019S AGENDA GAINS FIREPOWER AS FEDERAL LAWYERS DEFECT TO DEMOCRATS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">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.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;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,&#8221; Kelly wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;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 \u2014 but especially when an executive order explicitly requires that the Government seek dismissal with prejudice.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">But Kelly sharply rebuked the actions of the Jan. 6 rioters, calling it an attack on the people, Congress and the &#8220;Constitution&#8217;s mechanism to facilitate the peaceful transfer of power.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"image-ct inline\">\n<div class=\"m\"><picture><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/343\/192\/AP23082598825785.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/686\/384\/AP23082598825785.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"192\" width=\"343\"><source media=\"(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1023px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/672\/378\/AP23082598825785.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/1344\/756\/AP23082598825785.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"378\" width=\"672\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/931\/523\/AP23082598825785.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/1862\/1046\/AP23082598825785.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"523\" width=\"931\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1280px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/720\/405\/AP23082598825785.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/1440\/810\/AP23082598825785.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"405\" width=\"720\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/1200\/675\/AP23082598825785.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1\" alt=\"AP Photo\/Carolyn Kaster, File\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n<div class=\"info\">\n<div class=\"caption\">\n<p><span>Proud Boys members Zachary Rehl, left, and Ethan Nordean, walk toward the U.S. Capitol in Washington in support of President Donald Trump Jan. 6, 2021.\u00a0<\/span> <span>(Proud Boys members)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;Moving forward, if this Nation&#8217;s experiment in self-government is to last another 250 years, the American people \u2014 no matter their partisan preferences \u2014 will have to act together to preserve, protect and defend that miracle through our constitutional framework,&#8221; Kelly wrote.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a href=\"https:\/\/foxnews.onelink.me\/xLDS?pid=AppArticleLink&amp;af_dp=foxnewsaf%3A%2F%2F&amp;af_web_dp=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxnews.com%2Fapps-products\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Tarrio, who was also pardoned for criminal charges stemming from his role in the Jan. 6 riots, celebrated Kelly&#8217;s dismissal on X.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;We took the worst they threw at us the raids, the solitary, the lies and we stood tall,&#8221; Tarrio <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_2119858\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/NobleOne\/status\/2075739196635984293\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">wrote.<\/a> &#8220;Trump dropped the pardons and now the rest is crumbling. Justice is SERVED! Proud Boys don&#8217;t lose. We WIN. This is OUR victory. THANK YOU PRESIDENT DONALD J TRUMP and all of you that fought for us!&#8221;<\/p>\n<p> <!----> <!----> <\/p>\n<div class=\"article-meta\">\n<div class=\"author-bio\">\n<p>Elaine Mallon is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business covering national politics.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! 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&#8217;s request. U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly granted the Justice Department&#8217;s motion to dismiss the case with prejudice against&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4248,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/AP23082598825785.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-political-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4247"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4247\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4248"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}