Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche leaves following a press conference at the Justice Department in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 7, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
Political analysts and observers were outraged on Tuesday after President Donald Trump's Department of Justice moved to vacate the convictions of multiple people who participated in the Jan. 6 insurrection.
The Associated Press reported that the DOJ had moved to vacate the convictions of multiple Proud Boys and Oath Keepers who participated in the insurrection. The move adds to the growing list of more than 1,500 people who participated in the insurrection that the Trump administration has either let out of prison or stopped prosecuting.
"The move to abandon the convictions represented a stunning reversal from the Biden administration, which hailed the guilty verdicts as a crucial victory in its bid to hold accountable those responsible for what prosecutors described as an attack on the heart of American democracy," the AP reported. "It’s part of the Trump administration’s continued efforts to rewrite the history of the Jan. 6 attack and downplay the violence carried out by the mob of Trump supporters that left more than 100 police officers injured."
Analysts and observers shared their reactions on social media.
"Disgusting," Miles Taylor, a former Trump administration official, posted on X.
"What’s a little sedition," Tom Nichols, a staff writer at The Atlantic, posted on X.
"Sheesh," Mehdi Hasan, founder of Zeteo News, posted on X.
"Everyone who voted for this is an enemy of the constitution and the country, I’m just saying," writer Akilah Hughes posted on X.