In New Amicus Brief, Ranking Member Raskin Challenges Trump Administration’s Effort to Vaporize J6 Felony Convictions of Proud Boys and Oath Keeper Leaders

Washington, D.C. (April 17, 2026)—Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, filed an amicus brief before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in three separate cases relating to the Trump Department of Justice’s (DOJ) decision to vacate the convictions of 12 members of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys who were convicted of felonies, including seditious conspiracy, for their roles in the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Ranking Member Raskin is urging the court to conduct a rigorous, independent review before summarily erasing these significant convictions.

The brief challenges the Trump Administration’s attempt to nullify these jury convictions and sentences without legal explanation. Ranking Member Raskin argues that given the seriousness of the crimes and clear signs of political motivation, the court must independently scrutinize the request before acting.

“The Department of Justice is now acting like in-house counsel for the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys, who together coordinated and directed the worst mass attack on the Capitol since the War of 1812. These astounding motions are an attempt to vaporize the verdicts rendered by American jurors and to pretend that these seditious conspiracies against our government never happened. They are an insult to the jurors who heard the evidence and did their civic duty, to the judges who presided over these cases and fairly sentenced these criminals, and above all to the heroic officers who were wounded, bloodied, and broken defending our democracy on that terrible day,” said Ranking Member Raskin. “Democrats are demanding that the court reject these lawless and dangerous motions.” 

In November 2022, a unanimous jury convicted two leaders of the Oath Keepers of seditious conspiracy for their roles in leading the insurrectionary attack. That was followed in May 2023 by a separate jury conviction of four Proud Boys leaders. Juries determined that these men helped engineer an insurrection by establishing chains of command, recruiting rioters, and personally participating in the initial breaches of the U.S. Capitol.

Despite the President’s previous determination that the crimes committed were too severe for full pardons—opting instead for commutations—the DOJ is now seeking to completely erase the existence of these crimes.

The full brief in U.S. v. Kenneth Harrelson, et al. is available here.

The full brief in U.S. v. Ethan Nordean, et al. is available here.

The full brief in U.S. v. Roberta Minuta, et al. is available here.

For more information on House Democrats’ efforts to protect Americans against the accelerating unlawful actions of the Trump Administration, visit litigationandresponse.house.gov.