US judge grants DOJ bid to dismiss Jan. 6 cases against Oath Keepers

A US judge has granted the Justice Department's bid to dismiss cases against Oath Keepers members convicted of seditious conspiracy for their role in the January 6, 2021 US Capitol attack.

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WASHINGTON, Aug ​4 - A U.S. ​judge on Tuesday granted ‌the ​U.S. Justice Department's bid to dismiss cases against members of the right-wing Oath ‌Keepers militia who took part in the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, according to a court filing. The ‌ruling from Washington-based U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta tosses out ‌convictions of Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and other members of the group who were convicted of seditious conspiracy for plotting to ⁠stop the ​transfer of ⁠power after President Donald Trump lost the 2020 election. All nine of ⁠the defendants had already been freed from prison as part of ​Trump's sweeping move to pardon nearly all 1,600 people charged ⁠in the attack and commute the prison sentences of the remaining ⁠defendants.

"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. "The court cannot write a different ending."