A federal judge in Washington dismissed the last remaining prosecutions tied to the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack on Tuesday, closing the legal chapter on the insurrection after the Justice Department requested the cases be halted.
Judge Amit Mehta ruled on 5 August 2026 that while he disagreed with the department's position, prosecutors hold the authority to drop cases. The decision vacated convictions against nine members of the far-right Oath Keepers, including founder Stewart Rhodes, who had been imprisoned for seditious conspiracy. Mehta followed a Justice Department directive issued in April to strike all remaining sentences.
All nine Oath Keepers had already been released from prison under a sweeping clemency order. Donald Trump pardoned more than 1,500 people convicted in connection with the Capitol riot upon returning to the White House in January 2025, during the first day of his second term.