WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has dismissed the remnants of the government's landmark case against far-right Proud Boys members who were convicted of seditious conspiracy for plotting to attack the Capitol to keep President Donald Trump in the White House more than five years ago.
The case's dismissal late Friday became a foregone conclusion when Trump last year used his pardon powers to erase every case that the government prosecuted after a mob of his supporters stormed the building on Jan. 6, 2021. The judge who presided over the Proud Boys leaders' trial saw no basis to preserve the convictions after Trump's sweeping act of clemency last year.
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, whom Trump nominated during his first term, said there is “little mystery” about why the second Trump administration decided to abandon this case and every other Jan. 6 riot case.
“President Trump’s views about the prosecution of those who attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6 — whether those views are based on fact or fiction — are well known, as is his intention to extend clemency to them,” Kelly wrote.
The judge stressed that his order should not be mistaken as an endorsement of the Department of Justice's decision to abandon the case. He referred to the Capitol riot as “a perilous event” and an assault on the constitutional imperative for a peaceful transfer of power between presidents.
“Moving forward, if this Nation’s experiment in self-government is to last another 250 years, the American people — no matter their partisan preferences — will have to act together to preserve, protect and defend that miracle through our constitutional framework,” Kelly wrote.
Juries in the nation's capital separately convicted leaders of the Proud Boys and another extremist group, the antigovernment Oath Keepers, of orchestrating violent plots to keep Trump, a Republican, in power after he lost the 2020 presidential election to Democrat Joe Biden.
A different judge has not ruled yet on the Justice Department’s related request to throw out Oath Keepers' seditious conspiracy convictions.
Friday's ruling applied to four of five Proud Boys members who were convicted after a jury trial: Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl and Dominic Pezzola. Trump commuted their prison sentences, but they were not covered by the president's mass pardons.
Former Proud Boys national chairman Enrique Tarrio was convicted at the same trial but received a pardon from Trump. Kelly had sentenced Tarrio to 22 years, the longest prison term in any Capitol riot case.
FILE - Rioters supporting President Donald Trump storm the Capitol in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)
LONDON (AP) — British police on Saturday released a 26-year-old man arrested as a suspect in the killing of former politician and reality TV contestant Ann Widdecombe, as they revealed she was attacked in her home a full day before her body was discovered.
Devon and Cornwall Police said the man detained on Friday a few miles from the scene of the attack was no longer under investigation. The force said detectives are working at “at a significant pace” to find the killer, and they don't believe there is a risk to the public.
Widdecombe, 78, was found dead Thursday in her isolated rural home in the village of Haytor on the edge of Dartmoor National Park in southwest England. Police did not disclose a cause of death, saying only that she had sustained “serious injuries.”
Police said they believe Widdecombe was attacked at around 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Concerns were raised for her after she failed to appear for a scheduled TV interview on Wednesday afternoon.
The killing is not being investigated as an act of terror and there is no information suggesting it was politically motivated, police said.
Security has been tightened for politicians after the murders of two serving members of Parliament in the past decade. Labour lawmaker Jo Cox was shot and stabbed in 2016 by a far-right extremist, and Conservative David Amess was stabbed in 2021 by an attacker inspired by the Islamic State group.
Nigel Farage, leader of the Reform UK party to which Widdecombe belonged, said staff had searched party emails to check for patterns of abuse directed at her, but had not found anything.
Speaking after leaving a wreath of flowers outside Widdecombe’s home, Farage said “we can’t identify, from our data, any individual" who appeared to be targeting her.
The death sent shock waves through British politics, where Widdecombe had been a prominent voice for decades, known for her robust personality and socially conservative views opposing abortion and the expansion of LGBTQ rights.
She was a lawmaker in the House of Commons as an MP from 1987 to 2010, serving in roles including prisons minister in Prime Minister John Major’s 1990s Conservative government.
Widdecombe found fame after leaving Parliament as a contestant on the reality television shows “Strictly Come Dancing” and “Celebrity Big Brother.”
She later joined the Brexit Party, briefly serving as a member of the European Parliament before Britain left the European Union in 2020. Most recently, she joined the anti-immigration Reform UK party, often appearing in the media as a spokesperson.
Friends and colleagues contrasted her pugnacious political statements with her personal kindness and good humor.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer called her death “really shocking news,” and Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said she “really struggled to find the words to say.”
“It was a nasty, horrific attack and my heart is breaking for her family,” Badenoch said.
FILE -Ann Widdecombe, Brexit Party member, is interviewed after Nigel Farage, Leader of Britain's Brexit Party, spoke on stage at the launch of their policies for the General Election campaign, in London, Nov. 22, 2019. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
FILE - Britain's European parliament member Ann Widdecombe, right, of the Brexit party, speaks during a debate at the European parliament, Jan. 14, 2020, in Strasbourg, eastern France. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias, File)
Police outside the house of former lawmaker Ann Widdecombe, in Haytor, England, Friday July 10, 2026, after she was found dead in her home on Thursday with serious injuries. (Matt Keeble/PA via AP)
Police outside the house of former lawmaker Ann Widdecombe, in Haytor, England, Friday July 10, 2026, after she was found dead in her home on Thursday with serious injuries. (Matt Keeble/PA via AP)
