In another major win for President Trump’s efforts to right the wrongs of the weaponized Biden DOJ and FBI, and to fully restore the rights of all January 6 defendants, the Department of Justice filed a motion late Friday night, May 22, asking D.C. District Court Judge Amit Mehta to dismiss with prejudice the underlying indictments against the eight innocent Oath Keepers defendants whose sentences were commuted (but not fully pardoned) by President Trump.
They were released from prison on Inauguration Night 2025, just as four Proud Boys leaders likewise had their sentences commuted rather than pardoned, and were released from prison.
On May 21, 2026, the D.C. Court of Appeals granted the DOJ’s earlier request to vacate the eight Oath Keepers’ convictions and remand the cases back to the District Court.
With the appeals court’s order in hand, the DOJ has now moved to fully dismiss the cases — mirroring the recent D.C. Court of Appeals order vacating the convictions of the four remaining Proud Boys and remanding to their trial court for consideration of a DOJ motion to dismiss their underlying indictments.
This relief comes as President Trump and his DOJ have established the new $1.776 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund (also referred to as the 1776 Fund), created through a settlement of President Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS. The fund is designed to compensate Americans who suffered under the weaponized Biden DOJ and FBI.
Once the dismissals are granted, these eight Americans will no longer be felons and their records will be wiped clean. Their Second Amendment rights and all other civil rights will be restored.
Among them are four service-connected disabled military veterans who lost critical VA benefits due to the convictions. Those benefits will now be reinstated.
(Three of the four commuted Proud Boys — Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl, and Dominic Pezzola — are also veterans who lost their VA benefits and will now have them restored as well).
So now all twelve of the remaining J6ers who were commuted rather than pardoned will have their rights restored.
The eight Oath Keepers defendants are: E. Stewart Rhodes, Kenneth Harrelson, Kelly Meggs, Jessica Watkins, Robert Minuta, David Moerschel, Joseph Hackett, and Edward Vallejo.
The four service-connected disabled military veterans among them are:
- Stewart Rhodes (disabled Army paratrooper with service-connected injuries)
- Kenneth Harrelson (disabled Army veteran)
- Jessica Watkins (disabled Army veteran)
- Ed Vallejo (disabled Army veteran)
None of them were accused of assaulting police on January 6, and yet they were hit with the harshest charges of all — Seditious Conspiracy.
Oath Keepers’ Long History of Protecting Trump Supporters
The Oath Keepers have a well-documented record of successfully providing volunteer security for Trump supporters and conservative events nationwide throughout President Trump’s first term — often stepping in to protect attendees from Antifa violence when local law enforcement was overwhelmed or unwilling.
Oath Keepers also successfully protected dozens of Act For America “March Against Sharia” events nationwide, protecting ex-Muslim speakers who had converted to Christianity.
Their security missions to protect Trump supporters from Antifa included eight prior missions in Washington, D.C., including security at the massive rallies in Washington DC in November and December 2020 protesting the stolen 2020 election.
On January 6, 2021, Oath Keepers members were in Washington, D.C. to provide volunteer security for two permitted events on Capitol grounds (Latinos for Trump, and Stop the Steal) and to serve as personal security details for Roger Stone and for speakers and VIP attendees of the Latinos for Trump event and for Ali Alexander’s planned Stop the Steal rally just outside the East Capitol doors.
Their stated mission was defensive — protecting speakers, attendees, and fellow Trump supporters in the face of expected Antifa threats.
Oath Keepers and Proud Boys have frequently worked side-by-side in the streets to protect patriots from Antifa and other violent leftists. Most recently, Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio joined forces to provide personal security for conservative comedian and journalist Alex Stein during a chaotic “No Kings” protest in Dallas, Texas, when Stein was confronted by hostile protesters.
Notably, in the aftermath of Jan. 6, only members of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys were charged with seditious conspiracy — a clear indicator of how much the political left despised both groups for their long track record of defending conservatives from Antifa in the streets across the nation.
A Trial Rigged by Suppression of Exculpatory Evidence
Despite this well-documented protective role, the Oath Keepers trials under Obama-appointed Judge Amit Mehta were widely criticized for extreme bias:
- The defendants were denied a change of venue despite the overwhelmingly hostile D.C. jury pool.
- Defense attorneys were barred from showing the jury any video of Ray Epps on the night of January 5, 2021, where he repeatedly told a crowd of Trump supporters: “Tomorrow, I don’t even like to say it because I’ll be arrested… Tomorrow, we need to go into the Capitol! In… to the Capitol!” The defense was also forbidden from presenting any Epps footage from January 6 or even uttering his name in front of the jury.
See extensive Gateway Pundit coverage: RAY EPPS EXPOSED: Never Before Released FBI Interview and Holy Crap! Protester in MAGA Hat…)
- Oath Keepers member and New York retired police officer Mike Nichols was prevented from testifying. The defense was not allowed to show video of Nichols assisting Capitol Police Officer Tariq Johnson on Jan 6, helping officers safely exit the building through the crowd on the East side.
Bombshell Evidence of Apparent Perjury by Capitol Police Witnesses
Independent journalist Steve Baker of Blaze Media uncovered devastating video evidence that strongly suggests two key government witnesses committed perjury on the stand.
In the Oath Keepers trial, Capitol Police Special Agent David Lazarus testified that he personally witnessed “antagonistic” confrontations between Oath Keepers and Officer Harry Dunn. Dunn gave similar testimony claiming they were together during “hostile” interactions.
However, Capitol CCTV footage clearly shows Lazarus was in the tunnels underneath the Senate buildings (in another Senate office building across Constitution Ave.) far away from the alleged encounters — at the exact time he claimed to have observed them.
Even more damaging: Harry Dunn’s own initial FBI 302 interview admitted that the Oath Keepers helped him in the Capitol by keeping other Trump supporters from going down a stairwell he was guarding (the Oath Keepers stepped in between Dunn and the crowd and helped calm Dunn down, as he was highly agitated, with a select-fire M4 rifle in his hands, and they feared he was about to open fire on the Trump supporters).
At trial, Dunn dramatically changed his story. He claimed he had been mistaken and that it was “some other group of men similarly dressed” who assisted him. On the stand, he testified that the Oath Keepers did not help him and were instead hostile and threatening.
Gateway Pundit coverage of Steve Baker’s reporting:
- Special Agent David Lazarus Who Lied Under Oath Against the Oath Keepers… — Details Baker’s release of security camera evidence proving Lazarus could not have seen what he testified to.
- Additional context: JANUARY 6 EXCLUSIVE: Oath Keeper Leader Kelly Meggs…
This video proof and the stark contradictions in Dunn’s statements raise serious questions about the credibility of the government’s case and the fairness of this trial.
Biden’s Weaponization and Coercion Tactics
The Biden Administration used these false seditious conspiracy allegations to bolster their larger hoax that President Trump had conspired with the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers to “attack democracy” on January 6.
Most of these men were subjected to extended solitary confinement in a clear attempt to break them and coerce false testimony against President Trump. All of them refused to lie — and instead went to trial before hopelessly biased D.C. juries and biased judges.
Justice Finally Being Served
These seditious conspiracy cases were the cornerstone of the Biden DOJ’s false “insurrection” narrative. President Trump’s clemency actions, followed by these motions to vacate and dismiss, are finally delivering real justice to these heavily persecuted Oath Keepers and Proud Boys.
The motion to dismiss with prejudice means the government cannot refile these charges. The defendants will regain their rights, their reputations, and — for the veterans — their earned benefits.
This is yet another step toward dismantling the two-tiered system of justice that defined the Biden years. As is the establishment of the new Anti-Weaponization Fund (which, while a great start, is likely insufficient to fully compensate the thousands of Americans targeted and harmed by illegal, unconstitutional “lawfare” weaponization of federal law enforcement and the Biden DOJ).
Full story and court filings expected to develop rapidly in the coming days.
You can help Stewart Rhodes raise funds on GiveSendGo here.
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