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Timeline of the riot at the US Capitol on Jan. 6
What started as a congressional and democratic exercise in the peaceful transfer of power, devolved into death, destruction and chaos.
The U.S. Department of Justice wants an appellate court to throw out the convictions of Proud Boys and Oath Keepers leaders who were found guilty of seditious conspiracy in connection with the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump.
Big picture view:
In a filing Tuesday, the Justice Department urged the court to go ahead and vacate their convictions and send their case back to the lower court. If the court tosses the convictions, the filing indicates federal prosecutors expect to dismiss the indictments altogether.
What they're saying:
"The government’s motion to vacate in this case is consistent with its practice of moving the Supreme Court to vacate convictions in cases where the government has decided in its prosecutorial discretion that dismissal of a criminal case is in the interests of justice — motions that the Supreme Court routinely grants," prosecutors wrote in a court filing signed by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro.
Who was included
According to the Associated Press, the Justice Department’s request included Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, along with members Kelly Meggs, Kenneth Harrelson and Jessica Watkins, as well as Proud Boys members Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl and Dominic Pezzola.
Dig deeper:
Proud Boys national chairman Enrique Tarrio and other extremist group members were pardoned by President Donald Trump upon taking office for the second time.
Trump had already commuted the prison sentences of several Proud Boys and Oath Keepers leaders last January when he offered clemency to those charged in the Jan. 6 assault.
Tuesday’s motion, if approved by the court, would erase the convictions of the defendants involved.
Protesters gather on the second day of pro-Trump events fueled by President Donald Trump's continued claims of election fraud in an to overturn the results before Congress finalizes them in a joint session of the 117th Congress on Wednesday, Jan. 6, …
Jan. 6 convictions
In all, over 1,500 people were charged in the months and years after rioters stormed through the U.S. Capitol as lawmakers counted electoral votes, following former President Joe Biden’s win over Trump two months earlier.
Following a speech by the then-outgoing President Trump, protesters marched to the Capitol and flooded the halls of Congress. The ensuing melee sent lawmakers fleeing for safety as law enforcement struggled to restore order. The ensuing violence injured more than 100 police officers.
During the four years that followed, the Biden-era Justice Dept. strove to identify and charge many of those who were involved that day, in what prosecutors then described as an attack on the heart of democracy.
The Source: Information for this article was taken from the Department of Justice and the Associated Press. This story was reported from Orlando.