US judge grants Justice Department bid to dismiss Oath Keepers prosecutions

Key facts

• A U.S. judge granted the Justice Department's motion to dismiss January 6 prosecutions of Oath Keepers militia members.
• U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta granted the dismissal but expressed strong disapproval.
• The Justice Department sought to vacate convictions for seditious conspiracy and other charges.
• Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes was among the defendants whose convictions were targeted.
• The department cited the interests of justice and lack of opposition from defense attorneys.

A U.S. judge has granted the Justice Department's request to dismiss January 6 prosecutions against members of the right-wing Oath Keepers militia. U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta, while granting the motion, expressed strong disapproval of the decision.

"Today’s epilogue diminishes the gravity of that day, denigrates the work of the prosecutors and law enforcement officers who secured these convictions, and excuses criminal acts that caused a centuries-long pillar of our democracy—the peaceful transfer of presidential power—to buckle," Judge Mehta wrote in a court filing. "The court cannot write a different ending."

The Justice Department had asked a federal appeals court to vacate seditious conspiracy convictions for leaders of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, including Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes. The department stated that it was not in the interests of justice to continue prosecuting these cases or those of similarly situated defendants. Prosecutors noted that the defendants' attorneys did not oppose the motions.

Stewart Rhodes was sentenced to 18 years in prison for seditious conspiracy and other charges related to the January 6 Capitol riot. Other individuals whose convictions were targeted for dismissal include Proud Boys leaders Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, and Zachary Rehl, who were also convicted of seditious conspiracy.