A federal judge on Friday agreed to dismiss the convictions of four men who participated in the January 6 protests at the Capitol in 2021, following a Justice Department request to clear some of the last remaining cases related to the event.

Background

The four men, Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl, and Dominic Pezzola, were convicted in 2023 of numerous felony charges, including seditious conspiracy. However, their convictions were vacated 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.

U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly, who was appointed by Trump in 2017, wrote that while the federal government can request that a case be vacated, he did not approve of the administration’s move in this case. Kelly indicated that he could not sustain the case once the Justice Department declined to maintain its prosecution of the defendants.

Reaction

Zachary Rehl, who was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison in 2023, 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 after the ruling, writing “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: NBC10 Boston — read the source article.