A federal judge has granted the Justice Department’s request to dismiss the convictions of four men involved in the January 6 protests at the Capitol. The men, Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl, and Dominic Pezzola, were all convicted in 2023 of numerous felony charges, including seditious conspiracy.

Background

The Justice Department requested to dismiss the case in April, saying it would end ‘these years-long, Biden-era weaponized prosecutions.’ The move comes after President Donald Trump issued approximately 1,500 full pardons to people convicted in connection with the attack on the Capitol, while granting commutations to 14 others.

The four men were among the 14 whose sentences were commuted by Trump. Nordean was sentenced to 18 years in federal prison, Biggs to 17 years, Rehl to 15 years, and Pezzola to 10 years. The judge, Timothy J. Kelly, wrote that while he did not approve of the administration’s move, he could not sustain the case once the Justice Department declined to maintain its prosecution of the defendants.

Reaction

Rehl celebrated the ruling on social media, writing ‘Finally, it’s ALL OVER! January 6th can now be a thing of the past for me!’ Enrique Tarrio, who was on trial alongside the four men, congratulated them, saying ‘The seditious conspiracy hoax and the whole rigged indictment against me, Ethan Nordean, Joe Biggs, Zach Rehl, and Dominic Pezzola has been VACATED!!!’

Original reporting: NBC6 Miami — read the source article.