Ex-Philly Proud Boy leader Zach Rehl has been released from prison after Donald Trump issued sweeping Jan. 6 relief
Rehl, a former leader of the Philly Proud Boys, had been sentenced to 15 years for seditious conspiracy. But after Trump commuted his sentence, he walked out of prison a free man.
Zach Rehl, the former leader of the Philadelphia Proud Boys chapter, was behind bars Monday in rural Virginia, a federal inmate who carried a unique distinction as one of only a few people in American history to be convicted of seditious conspiracy.
His 15-year prison sentence was not scheduled to conclude until well into the 2030s, its length a reflection of what a judge said was his role as a lead provocateur in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol — an attack that turned violent, prosecutors said, because Rehl and others in his right-wing group had riled up a mob in a failed bid to keep Donald Trump in power.
By early Tuesday, however, Rehl’s fortunes had suddenly reversed.
Trump was back in the White House, this time after winning reelection in 2024. And in a sweeping decision that served as one of the first official acts of his new term, Trump pardoned nearly all of the 1,500 people charged with participating in the riot, vowed to end any pending prosecutions, and commuted the sentences of 14 accused ringleaders, including Rehl and several other Proud Boys who had also been convicted of seditious conspiracy.
Hours later, Rehl was a free man — released about 1 a.m. from the medium-security facility in Hopewell, Va., where he had been housed as federal inmate No. 34945-509.
In a text message to The Inquirer Tuesday afternoon, Rehl said: “I’m extremely grateful to President Trump for keeping his promise to pardon the January 6th hostages on day one, and I’m looking forward to getting my commuted sentence upgraded to a full pardon in the near future.”
The release of the 39-year-old Port Richmond man was just one example of the fallout likely to reverberate from Trump’s striking action to end all criminal prosecutions of the Capitol rioters — a decision that Trump had long hinted at and made official hours after being sworn in again as president.
During the four years when Trump was out of office, more than 1,200 people were convicted of crimes ranging from mere 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 single investigation in the department’s history.
As Trump returned to power this week, he continued to accuse prosecutors involved in that effort of abusing their power and targeting political opponents. While some of Trump’s Republican allies had suggested he issue clemency for convicted rioters on a case-by-base basis, he instead chose to grant blanket pardons, describing Jan. 6 defendants as “hostages” who had been unfairly persecuted and “treated so badly.”
By Tuesday, at least three other prominent players in the attack — Enrique Tarrio and Joseph Biggs of the Proud Boys, and Stewart Rhodes of the Oath Keepers — had also been released from prison.
And two brothers from the Lehigh Valley, Matthew and Andrew Valentin, were among the first to be freed late Monday, just days after they were sentenced to 2½ years each for assaulting police officers.
Democratic members of Congress were among those who criticized Trump’s actions this week. Pennsylvania Rep. Brendan Boyle called the clemency “a disgrace to our country and Constitution.”
New Jersey Rep. Andy Kim, who helped officers clean up the Capitol Rotunda after the Jan. 6 riot, added: “The idea that people can come and assault [police], come to the place they’re charged to protect, and then those people can get let off, what’s the deterrence for people not to do that again?”
The brother of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, meanwhile — a New Jersey native who died of two strokes partly attributed to the attacks — called Trump’s efforts a “betrayal to not only the families and loved ones of those who were injured and killed, but all Americans,” according to the Washington Post.
But Trump — who once faced charges for leading the effort to cling to power after losing the 2020 election — has remained consistent while seeking to downplay the chaos of that day. He has long suggested he would offer some form of relief to Jan. 6 defendants upon his return to the White House, and he invoked two powers given to presidents: the ability to grant pardons, which effectively eliminate all criminal consequences stemming from a conviction, and to grant commutations, which can end or reduce a defendant’s sentence and clear the way for a release from prison.
He also said he would order the Justice Department not to move forward with hundreds of cases in which defendants were still awaiting trials or sentencing — including several from the Philadelphia area.
One is Ryan Samsel, a Bucks County native who was convicted last year of felony charges that included assaulting a police officer. Prosecutors said Samsel was another key instigator at the riot — someone who helped topple police barricades and shoved officers before the Proud Boys and others burst through the security perimeter to begin attacking the Capitol.
In court documents filed over the weekend, prosecutors said they would ask a judge to imprison Samsel for 20 years, a sentence that “reflects the gravity of Samsel’s conduct and provides sufficient deterrence given Samsel’s continued lack of remorse, active and public rehashing of false narratives, violent criminal history, and interest in assaulting the Capitol again,” they wrote. He was scheduled to be sentenced next month
But Tuesday afternoon, prosecutors filed a motion to dismiss Samsel’s case — a reflection of Trump’s unequivocal statement from a day earlier, in which he called for the dismissal of “all pending indictments against individuals for their conduct related to the events at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021.”
Isaiah Giddings will almost certainly be another beneficiary.
Giddings was a member of the Philadelphia Proud Boys in 2021, and traveled from the city to Washington with Rehl and several other Proud Boys ahead of the storming of the Capitol. Prosecutors said that as the mob breached the building, Giddings followed, then took photos with Rehl in places including a senator’s office.
Giddings was not accused of any crimes of violence, and he pleaded guilty in 2022 to disorderly conduct. His sentencing hearing was scheduled to take place next week, but that now seems unlikely given Trump’s orders.
Attempts to reach Giddings, 39, were unsuccessful Tuesday. His attorney did not respond to a request for comment.
Supporters of Rehl, meanwhile, had spent years describing him online as the victim of an unfair prosecution, calling him a “political prisoner” and urging followers to vote for Trump to help secure a pardon.
In a text message after his release from prison, Rehl did not bring up those issues, saying instead that he was “trying to settle down and catch up with some family and friends.”
“I will be weighing my options in the meantime,” he continued, “and see what happens next.”
Staff writer Julia Terruso contributed to this article.