The Bobster
Senior News Editor since 2004
Former Philadelphia Proud Boys leader Zachary Rehl has sentence commuted by Donald Trump
The former Philly Proud Boys leader serving a 15-year sentence in federal prison is set to be released after President Trump commuted his sentence.
www.cbsnews.com
Philadelphia Proud Boys leader Zachary Rehl pardoned by Donald Trump
By Joe Brandt
January 21, 2025 / 10:26 AM EST / CBS Philadelphia
Zachary Rehl, the leader of the Philadelphia chapter of the Proud Boys, was one of 1,500 people President Trump granted clemency on the first day of his second term in office.
On Monday Trump commuted the sentence for Rehl, 39, who was serving a 15-year term in medium security federal prison at FCI Petersburg in Hopewell, Virginia, according to the federal Bureau of Prisons' website.
He had been convicted of seditious conspiracy and other offenses after a trial and multiple indictments connecting him to other Proud Boys who were at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, trying to disrupt the official Electoral College vote count for President Joe Biden.
Rehl was tried along with former Proud Boys President Enrique Tarrio and members Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs and Dominic Pezzola, who were also pardoned Monday.
Prosecutors said Rehl was part of a special Proud Boys chapter known as the "Ministry of Self Defense," a group of "rally boys" who had plans to storm the Capitol and stop the count, a procedure that is largely a formality.
Rehl and Biggs were in a group of about 200 people who marched away from speeches being given at the Ellipse, a large lawn near the White House, and began marching toward the Capitol. Once met with law enforcement resistance, Rehl was seen spraying a chemical irritant in an officer's face, according to prosecutors.
Rehl later told the "MOSD" he was "proud as f--- [of] what we accomplished."
Other pardoned Proud Boys have already been released. Tarrio was released from prison and was due to return to his home of Miami, Florida, CBS News Miami reported.
Online federal prison records still list Rehl as incarcerated, but we're contacting the Bureau of Prisons to confirm.
CBS News Philadelphia has reached out to the attorney who most recently represented Rehl for a comment.