The prosecution now demands concrete evidence against the accused, but for the responsible prosecutor “no one who has already been convicted will be completely exonerated.” The decision could benefit Trump.
The US Supreme Court on Friday made it difficult to charge those accused of assaulting the Capitol with obstruction, a charge that was also brought against former US President Donald Trump.
The justices ruled 6 to 3 that the charge of obstructing an official proceeding, enacted in 2002 in response to the financial scandal that brought down Enron Corp., must include evidence that the defendants tried to alter or destroy documents.
Only a few of the people who violently attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021 fall into this category.
Trials and investigations continue into the 2021 Capitol invasion
The decision could be used as the basis for accusations by Trump and his Republican allies that the Justice Department unfairly treated those charged in the Capitol riot.
It is unclear how the court’s decision will affect the case against Trump in Washington, although special counsel Jack Smith said the charges the former president faces would not be met.
The high court has returned former Pennsylvania police officer Joseph Fischer’s case to a lower court to determine whether he can be charged with obstruction.
Fischer was charged for his role in disrupting Congress’ certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential election victory over Trump.
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The former agent is among the approximately 350 people charged with obstruction. Some pleaded guilty or were convicted of lesser crimes.
A broad reading of the obstruction statute “would also criminalize a wide range of prosaic conduct, exposing activists and lobbyists to decades in prison,” Chief Justice John Roberts Roberts wrote in his opinion.
About 170 defendants charged with the Capitol insurrection were convicted of obstruction or conspiracy to disrupt the joint session of Congress on Jan. 6, including the leaders of two far-right groups, the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers.
Some protesters were even granted early release from prison while appeals were pending because of concerns that they could end up serving longer sentences than they should have if the Supreme Court ruled against the Justice Department.
This list includes Kevin Seefried, a Delaware man who threatened a black police officer with a flagpole tied to a Confederate battle flag while storming the Capitol.
Seefried was sentenced last year to three years in prison, but a judge recently ordered him to be released a year later, pending the Supreme Court’s ruling.
More than 1,400 people have been charged with federal crimes in connection with the Capitol riot. About 1,000 of them pleaded guilty or were convicted by a jury or judge after their trials.
Former Trump administration official convicted of storming U.S. Capitol
The U.S. attorney’s office in Washington, which handled the proceedings related to the events of January 6, said that No one who has been convicted or charged with obstruction will be completely exonerated. due to the decision.
Each defendant also has other felony or misdemeanor charges, or both, prosecutors said.
For about 50 people convicted, obstruction was the only felony charge, prosecutors said. Of those, about two dozen who are still serving time are the most likely to be affected by the decision.
Source: Observadora
