Grand Theft America / Receipt power-2026-07-10-089
The Proud Boys prosecutions end, on a motion the judge says rests on neither facts nor law
A federal judge granted the Justice Department's motion to dismiss the Proud Boys seditious-conspiracy prosecutions — the final step after the department sought dismissal in April and the appeals court vacated the jury's convictions in May.
What happened
US district judge Timothy Kelly noted in a seven-page memorandum that Proud Boy leaders Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs and Zachary Rehl were all convicted of multiple crimes including seditious conspiracy, and that a fourth member, Dominic Pezzola, was convicted of assaulting an officer. In April the Justice Department asked an appeals court to overturn the convictions. Kelly wrote that there "is little mystery about why the Government is moving to dismiss this case, or whether dismissal is in fact what the Executive seeks."
Why it matters
Clemency in 2025 forgave the sentences and left the jury's verdicts standing; the department then had the verdicts vacated on appeal and the prosecutions dismissed — the difference between a sentence forgiven and a jury verdict erased, completed in three steps.
Receipt details
- Phase 2
- Turn law enforcement inward
- Pardon the January 6 attackers
