A federal judge has dismissed the criminal convictions against Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes of Granbury and eight other defendants, formally ending the Justice Department’s prosecutions connected to the events at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta granted the Justice Department’s request Tuesday to vacate the convictions, despite sharply criticizing the decision in a 15-page ruling.
The dismissals close the final chapter of what had been the Justice Department’s largest criminal investigation, which resulted in charges against roughly 1,600 people and more than 1,200 convictions related to the January 6 events.
Rhodes’ Conviction Vacated
Rhodes, who founded the Oath Keepers militia group and lives in Granbury, was convicted of seditious conspiracy and sentenced to 18 years in federal prison for his role in planning efforts to stop the certification of the 2020 presidential election.
Although prosecutors argued Rhodes helped orchestrate events that day, he has consistently denied wrongdoing and has noted that he never entered the Capitol building.
President Donald Trump commuted Rhodes’ prison sentence in January 2025 as part of a sweeping clemency order covering nearly all defendants charged in connection with January 6. Unlike most recipients, Rhodes and several others convicted of seditious conspiracy received sentence commutations rather than full pardons, leaving their convictions intact until the Justice Department sought to have them dismissed.
The Justice Department said the dismissals were carried out in response to Trump’s directive on his first day back in office ordering prosecutors to end all remaining January 6 cases.
Judge Says He Had No Legal Basis To Deny Request
Although Mehta approved the motion, he wrote that he strongly disagreed with the government’s 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,” Mehta wrote, Politico reported. “The court cannot write a different ending.”
The judge said the Justice Department was effectively asking the court “to absolve these Defendants of crimes against the United States itself,” Fox 4 KDFW reported.
However, Mehta concluded that longstanding legal precedent gives the executive branch broad authority over charging decisions.
“This court does strongly disagree. But that alone is not a valid basis to deny the motion,” he wrote, per Politico.
Final Chapter in January 6 Prosecutions
Federal prosecutors originally secured convictions against Rhodes and other Oath Keepers leaders after presenting evidence that members of the group coordinated plans intended to prevent the peaceful transfer of presidential power following the 2020 election.
According to trial evidence, members of the organization gathered weapons outside Washington, D.C., and some entered the Capitol building after it had been breached.
The Justice Department has also moved to vacate seditious conspiracy convictions involving leaders of the Proud Boys, reversing the position it had taken during the Biden administration.
Trump has repeatedly described the prosecutions as a “grave national injustice” and said his clemency actions were intended to promote national reconciliation. The administration also directed prosecutors to dismiss approximately 450 pending January 6 cases.
Mehta’s ruling officially closes the remaining federal criminal prosecutions stemming from the events of January 6, 2021.
Provided by Dallas Express
