{"id":81274,"date":"2024-06-28T17:46:58","date_gmt":"2024-06-28T17:46:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/2024\/06\/28\/supreme-court-rules-against-jan-6-riot-obstruction-charges\/"},"modified":"2024-06-28T17:46:58","modified_gmt":"2024-06-28T17:46:58","slug":"supreme-court-rules-against-jan-6-riot-obstruction-charges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/2024\/06\/28\/supreme-court-rules-against-jan-6-riot-obstruction-charges\/","title":{"rendered":"Supreme Court rules against Jan 6 riot obstruction charges"},"content":{"rendered":"


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By\u00a0Mike Wendling,\u00a0<\/span>BBC News<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"ReutersReuters<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Trump spoke to the rioters before they marched on the Capitol<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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Federal prosecutors overreached when using an obstruction law to charge hundreds of January 6 rioters, the Supreme Court has ruled in an opinion that could affect a case against Donald Trump.<\/p>\n

The justices ruled that obstruction charges must include proof that defendants tried to tamper with or destroy documents. <\/p>\n

More than 350 people have been charged with obstructing Congress\u2019 business – the certification of the 2020 presidential election. <\/p>\n

The law that prosecutors used was passed in 2002, after the Enron scandal, to stop corporate misconduct.<\/p>\n

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act outlines criminal penalties for anyone who “alters, destroys, mutilates, or conceals a record, document, or other object”, and another clause includes anyone who “otherwise obstructs, influences, or impedes any official proceeding”. <\/p>\n

Justice department prosecutors argued for a broad interpretation of the law to include those who broke into the Capitol on 6 January 2021 in an attempt to keep Trump in the White House. <\/p>\n

But in a 6-3 opinion which cut across the Supreme Court’s usual ideological lines, the court ruled that the law should be interpreted relatively narrowly – and used only against defendants who tampered with documents. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

How will the decision affect the Trump case?<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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The ruling has cheered supporters of Donald Trump. <\/p>\n

While the court introduced another wrinkle into the special prosecution of the former president – and the Supreme Court could rule in a separate case expected next week<\/a> that he has immunity for his actions – it is unclear whether the decision will halt one of the charges against him. <\/p>\n

“For Trump, I think there will be litigation,” said Aziz Huq, a professor at the University of Chicago Law School. <\/p>\n

“But the charges against him involve falsifying or altering ‘records, documents, or objects’. So I think it likely doesn\u2019t undermine those charges.”<\/p>\n

In addition, Special Counsel Jack Smith has also charged Trump<\/a> with other crimes in connection with his attempts to overturn the 2020 result: Conspiring to defraud the US and conspiring against the rights of citizens.<\/p>\n

Those charges will go ahead regardless of the outcome of the obstruction case. <\/p>\n

The special prosecutor faces an obvious deadline. If Trump wins the November election, he will be able to remove Mr Smith from his post and end the federal legal case. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"USUS Department of Justice <\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Joseph Fischer (centre, holding phone) briefly entered the Capitol and encountered police officers on 6 January 2021<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

What about the other Jan 6 defendants?<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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The Sarbanes-Oxley Act was one of a number of laws used against those who stormed the Capitol in January 2021. <\/p>\n

About 25% of Capitol riot defendants were prosecuted under the law, and according to Attorney General Merrick Garland, all of those faced additional charges.<\/p>\n

“The vast majority of the more than 1,400 defendants charged for their illegal actions on January 6 will not be affected by this decision,” Mr Garland said in a statement issued after the decision in which he also noted he was disappointed with the ruling.<\/p>\n

The case was brought to the Supreme Court by Joseph Fischer, a former police officer from Pennsylvania who attended Trump\u2019s rally in Washington on 6 January 2021, then briefly went inside the Capitol.<\/p>\n

He was seen arguing with police on video before leaving the building.<\/p>\n

Lower courts will now decide whether the obstruction charge against him can continue. However, Mr Fischer also faces trial on a number of other charges including civil disorder, disorderly conduct and assaulting, resisting or impeding a police officer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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More than 1,400 people have been charged with crimes related to the riot.<\/p>\n

According to justice department figures, more than 500 defendants have been charged with assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers, including more than 130 who have been charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to a police officer.<\/p>\n

And more than 1,300 people have been charged with entering or remaining in a restricted federal building or grounds. More than 100 of those have been charged with entering a restricted area with a dangerous or deadly weapon.<\/p>\n

With additional reporting from Kayla Epstein<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"ReutersReuters<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Pro-Trump protesters storm into the US Capitol on 6 January 2021<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n


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