The years-long saga of prosecuting the Jan. 6 attack effectively came to an end this week, when a judge dismissed a remaining indictment against Oath Keepers members already freed by President Trump.

The big picture: Not only has Trump erased the legal consequences for many J6ers, but his administration has moved to rewrite the history of a deadly and traumatic day for Washington — while ousting the feds who worked on related cases.

📝 Driving the news: Judges in recent weeks disposed of the final two cases accusing leaders of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers of orchestrating a plot to undermine the transfer of power. But the jurists were candid in saying that didn't mean they agreed with the administration.

• Judge Amit Mehta acknowledged the gravity of his Tuesday order granting the DOJ's request to toss the Oath Keepers' indictment.

"This is the last of the prosecutions seeking to hold accountable those responsible for the events of January 6," Mehta wrote.

• "That book is now closed," he added.

He wrote of an epilogue that diminished what happened that day and denigrated the work of prosecutors and law enforcement.

• But he concluded, "The court cannot write a different ending."

⌛️ What they're saying: But even if the prosecutions have ended, they've created an in-depth chronicle of that day and what led to it, says Brendan Ballou, founder of the Public Integrity Project and a former federal prosecutor who resigned from the DOJ following the Jan. 6 pardons.

• "This was always a risk, and why I think the prosecutions were so important," Ballou tells Axios. "Because it's a historical record that, try as he might, Donald Trump is not successfully erasing."

Catch up quick: In those high-profile cases, members of both groups were found guilty of seditious conspiracy.

• Henry "Enrique" Tarrio, who led the Proud Boys, was sentenced to 22 years in prison, the longest sentence handed down in the Jan. 6 cases. Stewart Rhodes, of Oath Keepers infamy, was sentenced to 18 years.
• But Tarrio was pardoned in Trump's day-one clemency sweep, while other members of the far-right groups had their sentences cut short with commutations.
• Earlier this year, the DOJ asked an appeals court to vacate the remaining convictions.

🔎 Between the lines: The end of the cases comes as no great surprise under an administration that's taken a radically different approach to Jan. 6 than its predecessors.

• Even with his $1.776 billion "anti-weaponization" fund defunct, the president has continued to suggest those involved in the riot deserve payouts.

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The share of business students regularly using AI has increased from 6.2% to 29% over the past three years.

• That's according to research from American University's Kogod School of Business, shared first with Axios.

👀 Why it matters: The chorus of AI boos at college graduations last spring doesn't tell the whole story: Students increasingly see AI as a critical job skill but want more guidance on using it responsibly.

The big picture: Those commencement jeers aimed at AI boosterism captured real anxiety about the future. But most students aren't fully avoiding the technology.

• "We haven't encountered a lot of resistance," Kogod interim dean Casey Evans tells Axios. "We're very intentional," she says, as opposed to forcing AI on students with no choice. "They are really using AI as one of many tools in their toolbox."

⚡️ By the numbers: Kogod's survey suggests AI has moved from a novelty to a routine part of student life, with more than 80% of college students using AI academically in the past six months.

• Nearly a third of students are now using it 11 or more times a week for school or work-related tasks.

Caveat: The survey's three-year span gives it a rare longitudinal view of changing student behavior, though it reflects just 483 business students at Kogod and may not generalize to all colleges.

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🏁 Ahead of the Freedom 250 Grand Prix, the National Gallery studied whether its art could be damaged due to vibrations from IndyCars racing up to 185mph. The museum didn't release the study's results but said "measures are only being taken out of a great abundance of caution." (WaPo)

🎭 Days before a vote to close the Kennedy Center for two years, the board is yet to receive any documentation about how the Trump-backed renovation would impact the venue's viability, says a Democratic senator on the board. (WaPo)

🦫 A wild animal week continues – Maryland officials closed parts of Cunningham Falls State Park after a fisherman was bitten by a beaver Wednesday — the second attack within two weeks. The beaver was euthanized and is being tested for rabies.

On the prowl: Welcome, Han and Solo! We're not kit'n around. The National Zoo's newest bat-eared foxes are now exploring their habitat.

Hi, I'm Gabe, the newest member of the Axios D.C. team. You'll catch me often in our D.C. PM newsletter, which launches Monday.

These are some of my favorite things about living here.

🚴 Barely driving: I love being a pedestrian, taking Metro and using Capital Bikeshare to get around.

🍕 Local eats: I'm a former food editor and restaurant columnist. If you're visiting from out of town, I'm taking you to Baan Mae or Thip Khao for Lao. If I'm a regular anywhere, it's Gemini or Snappy's.

🧠 Other cities may be "cooler" (as if) — but everyone knows D.C. is the smartest. You're bound to go down some fascinating rabbit holes at a house party. Once you get past the What do you do for work convo, anyway.

Say hi and send story ideas to [email protected].