By Jacob Rosen
Updated on: April 14, 2026 / 7:38 PM EDT / CBS News
The Justice Department on Tuesday asked a federal court to vacate Jan. 6 convictions against a dozen former members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, most of whom had been convicted of seditious conspiracy, seeking to erase some of the remaining Capitol riot convictions.
After returning to office last year, President Trump issued pardons for many convicted in connection with the Jan. 6 riot. Fourteen people — including the 12 referenced by the Justice Department on Tuesday — instead had their sentences commuted to time served, allowing them to leave prison while their convictions remained.
The 12 include Stewart Rhodes, founder of the Oath Keepers, who prosecutors said helped plot to oppose by force the lawful transfer of presidential power after the 2020 election and coordinated a march on the Capitol. Rhodes was sentenced to 18 years in prison for seditious conspiracy and other charges.
Also included are four Proud Boys convicted for roles in the Jan. 6 attack: Ethan Nordean, a group leader sentenced to 18 years after a seditious conspiracy conviction alongside Joseph Biggs and Zachary Rehl; and Dominic Pezzola, who was convicted of assaulting or resisting officers, robbery involving government property, obstruction and other charges after video showed him smashing a Capitol window with a riot shield. Prosecutors had said Nordean and Pezzola “participated in every consequential breach at the Capitol,” helping dismantle barricades, breach the building, assault police and destroy property.
In three separate appeals where the 12 had challenged their convictions, the Justice Department asked federal appeals panels to vacate lower court judgments with prejudice, which would prevent the cases from being brought again. In one filing signed by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, prosecutors wrote that in the Executive Branch’s view it is “not in the interests of justice to continue to prosecute this case or the cases of other, similarly situated defendants.” They noted the defendants’ attorneys did not oppose the motions.
Pirro’s office declined to comment on the filings, and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Not included in the initial batch of motions were Thomas Caldwell, who authorities said assisted the Oath Keepers and was acquitted of seditious conspiracy but convicted on other counts, and Jeremy Bertino, a former Proud Boy leader who pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy in 2022. Caldwell was separately pardoned by Mr. Trump in March 2025.
The move drew criticism from Greg Rosen, the former chief of the department’s Capitol Siege Section, who said it signals that “political violence is acceptable as long as your politics align” and called it a sad commentary on the department’s state.
Last year, Trump-allied attorney Peter Ticktin asked top Justice Department officials to consider granting full pardons to remaining Jan. 6 defendants not fully clemencyed by Mr. Trump, work he said included representing Rhodes, Biggs, Nordean, Rehl and Pezzola. Ticktin praised Tuesday’s filings, saying in an email that the actions were appropriate for people he described as “patriots.”
Tuesday’s filings represent an effort by the Justice Department to dismantle remaining elements of the Jan. 6 probe, the largest in the department’s history. About 1,500 people were arrested in connection with the riot, with convictions or guilty pleas ranging from trespassing to assaulting officers. More than 700 defendants completed sentences or were not incarcerated; over 170 were accused of using a deadly or dangerous weapon against police, including items such as a fire extinguisher or bear spray.
Mr. Trump has long criticized the prosecutions, calling defendants “hostages” and asserting many were treated harshly in prison. He has at times sought to recast Jan. 6 as a “day of love” prompted by his unproven voter fraud claims and labeled some assaults on police as “very minor incidents.”