A judge on Friday deferred ruling on the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) motion to vacate convictions of unpardoned defendants charged in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol breach, citing the need for more information.
This stemmed from the DOJ's May 22 motion to dismiss with prejudice the indictment on Oath Keepers members Elmer Stewart Rhodes III, Kelly Meggs, Kenneth Harrelson, Jessica Watkins, Roberto Minuta, Edward Vallejo, David Moerschel, and Joseph Hackett. If granted, the dismissal would bar prosecutors from refiling the charges.
U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta of the District of Columbia said the DOJ’s motion was “insufficiently detailed” and offered only a conclusory statement that dismissing the convictions would be in the public interest.
“The court defers ruling on the government’s request until it receives additional information,” the judge wrote in a two-page order on May 29.
Mehta said the DOJ had not provided “a statement of reasons” or the “underlying factual basis” for the request to vacate the convictions.
“As a result, the court lacks the information necessary both to determine whether ‘the reasons advanced for the proposed dismissal are substantial’ and to guard against ‘abuse of prosecutorial discretion,’” the judge said.
The Epoch Times has reached out to the DOJ for comment.
“If they were non-violent, I think they’ve been greatly punished,” he told the news outlet. “They’ve suffered greatly, and in many cases, they should not have suffered.”
Trump, however, stopped short of pardoning 14 members of the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys. He instead commuted their sentences, leaving their convictions still standing.