Supreme Court rules in favor of Jan. 6 Capitol riot participant who challenged obstruction conviction

The Supreme Court connected Friday ruled successful favour of a subordinate successful the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot who was challenging his condemnation for a national "obstruction" crime.

The ruling reverses a little tribunal determination and returns the lawsuit to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, who volition person the accidental to reassess the lawsuit with Friday's ruling successful mind.

The lawsuit stems from a suit filed by Joseph Fischer – 1 of much than 300 radical charged by the Justice Department with "obstruction of an authoritative proceeding" successful the Jan. 6, 2021, riot astatine the Capitol. His lawyers argued that the national statute should not apply, and that it had lone ever been applied to evidence-tampering cases. 

The Justice Department argued that Fischer’s actions were a "deliberate attempt" to halt a associated league of Congress straight from certifying the 2020 election, frankincense qualifying their usage of the statute that criminalizes behaviour that "otherwise obstructs, influences, oregon impedes immoderate authoritative proceeding, oregon attempts to do" and carries a punishment of up to 20 years successful prison.

LEGAL EXPERTS SAY BIDEN ADMIN'S LEGAL THEORY IN JAN 6 PROSECUTION 'ON THE ROPES' AFTER SUPREME COURT ARGUMENT

Rioters loyal to President Donald Trump rally astatine the U.S. Capitol successful Washington connected Jan. 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar took a slew of pugnacious questions from the justices during oral arguments successful April. 

At 1 point, Justice Neil Gorsuch questioned whether, nether the government’s argument, heckling astatine the State of the Union code oregon the caller incidental of Rep. Jaamal Bowman, D-N.Y., pulling a occurrence alarm and diverting a House ballot would represent "obstruction."

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"There are aggregate elements of the [statute] that I deliberation mightiness not beryllium satisfied by those hypotheticals," Prelogar replied, adding that obstruction requires "meaningful interference" and "corrupt intent."

Chief Justice John Roberts pressed Prelogar astir an sentiment issued successful 2019 by the DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) – an bureau that serves arsenic a ineligible advisor to the section and different enforcement agencies – which said the obstruction statute should beryllium viewed narrowly and contradicts the DOJ’s presumption successful the case.

Prelogar said that sentiment was ne'er "formally" adopted, but she could not accidental what the DOJ’s process is for formerly accepting an OLC paper.