The Justice Department is seeking to throw out the Jan. 6 conviction of ex-Philly Proud Boy leader Zach Rehl

The Justice Department said Tuesday it was seeking to vacate the conviction of Zach Rehl, the former leader of the Philadelphia Proud Boys who was found guilty of seditious conspiracy for his role in helping incite the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 — the latest development in President Donald Trump’s efforts to effectively erase any criminal consequences from that ill-fated attempt to keep him in power.

In a motion filed in the Washington, D.C., Circuit Court of Appeals — the jurisdiction where Rehl was tried and convicted — prosecutors said it was “not in the interests of justice to continue to prosecute this case,” and asked that Rehl’s conviction be vacated so they could dismiss all charges and end the proceedings.

Trump had already helped free Rehl from a 15-year prison sentence last year, commuting his sentence as well as those of 13 other accused ringleaders who helped foment the chaos at the Capitol five years ago.

Still, the commutation kept Rehl’s conviction intact, and did not measure up to the broader form of relief Trump granted to 1,500 others who were also charged in connection with the attack. For those defendants, Trump issued blanket pardons as one of his first official acts back in the White House after being reelected in 2024.

Tuesday’s request, if approved by the courts, could offer an even more comprehensive form of relief, because unlike a pardon, it would allow prosecutors to dismiss Rehl’s indictment.

And Rehl would not be the only person to benefit: Prosecutors made the same request for some other Proud Boys and Oath Keepers who did not receive pardons, including Rehl’s codefendants, Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, and Dominic Pezzola, who had been convicted and ordered to serve at least 10 years in prison before Trump issued the commutations.

Rehl said in an interview Tuesday that he was “thrilled” because “I felt like I was innocent from the start.”

“It’s a sigh of relief and I’m really just happy to be able to move on from this,” he said. “I’ve been fighting tooth and nail for justice.”

During the four years between Trump’s two terms in office, more than 1,200 people were convicted of crimes ranging from trespassing to assaulting law enforcement officers on Jan. 6, 2021, while trying to block certification of Joe Biden’s electoral win, according to the Justice Department. Officials said the probe was the largest investigation in the department’s history.

But Trump was fiercely and openly critical of that effort, describing some of those charged as “patriots” and “hostages” as he sought to downplay the gravity of what unfolded that day.

Beyond offering pardons and commutations once he was sworn in for his second term — acts that were quickly criticized by Democrats — Trump also ordered the Justice Department to drop and dismiss hundreds of other cases that were still pending.

Last summer, after Rehl was released from his 15-year term at a medium-security prison in Virginia, he and four others filed a lawsuit in Florida saying they were illegally prosecuted in cases that were “corrupt and politically motivated.”

A judge dismissed that case last week, court records show, but Rehl said they will file an amended complaint later this month — and that their case could be strengthened assuming their convictions are thrown out.

The dismissal of his conviction, meanwhile, still must be approved by judges in the appellate and district courts.