DOJ Vacates Jan 6 Seditious Conspiracy Convictions: What 'With Prejudice' Means and Why It Matters

# DOJ Vacates Jan 6 Seditious Conspiracy Convictions: What "With Prejudice" Means and Why It Matters

> **Quick answer:** On April 14, 2026, the Justice Department moved to vacate the seditious conspiracy convictions of 12 January 6 defendants — including Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, who had been sentenced to 18 years. The cases were filed for dismissal "with prejudice," a legal term meaning the charges can never be brought again. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro signed the motions. A federal appeals court must still approve the dismissals before the records are fully cleared.

The DOJ vacates Jan 6 seditious conspiracy convictions in a move that closes the final chapter on the most serious charges to emerge from the Capitol riot investigation — permanently. On April 14, 2026, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro filed motions with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit seeking to erase the convictions of 12 former Proud Boys and Oath Keepers members, most of whom had been found guilty of seditious conspiracy. The two-word legal phrase at the center of it all — "with prejudice" — is what transforms this from a sentence reduction into a permanent legal erasure.

## What Happened: The DOJ Motion Explained

The Justice Department filed court papers arguing that dismissal was "in the interests of justice" and consistent with the government's prosecutorial discretion. The motion targets 12 defendants whose sentences had previously been commuted — but not pardoned — by President Trump in January 2025 when he returned to office. That earlier commutation allowed them to leave prison but left their criminal convictions intact on the record. Tuesday's action goes further: it asks a federal court to wipe those convictions entirely.

The 12 defendants named in the motions include: