WASHINGTON, Aug 4 - A federal judge in Washington on Tuesday approved the U.S. Justice Department's motion to dismiss criminal cases against members of the right-wing Oath Keepers militia who participated in the January 6, 2021 assault on the U.S. Capitol, according to a court filing.
The decision, handed down by U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta, nullifies convictions that had been returned against Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and other members of the organization who were found guilty of seditious conspiracy for plotting to interrupt the transfer of presidential power after the 2020 election.
Those convictions had previously resulted in prison sentences, but all nine defendants had already been released from custody after former President Donald Trump granted broad clemency measures. The releases were part of a larger set of actions described as pardoning nearly all of the roughly 1,600 people charged in the January 6 attack and commuting the sentences of the remaining defendants.
In his written remarks, Judge Mehta reflected on the broader significance of the events of Jan. 6 and on the impact of the court's ruling. He wrote: "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," adding, "The court cannot write a different ending."
The courtroom order effectively erases the convictions at issue by granting the Justice Department's request to dismiss the charges. The filing indicates that the department sought dismissal of the prosecutions, and the judge's ruling implements that request, removing the convictions from the defendants' records.
Beyond the immediate legal effect on the named defendants, the order documents a resolution of those particular cases in light of the prior clemency actions that had already resulted in the defendants' release. The filing reinforces that the defendants are no longer serving the sentences originally imposed by the courts.
Context and note: The court filing and judge's comments appear in the docket for the matter. The filing records the Justice Department's bid to dismiss the prosecutions and Judge Mehta's decision granting that bid.