In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court has delivered a decision that could significantly impact the sentences of individuals charged in connection with the January 6th Capitol riots, including potentially affecting former President Donald Trump.
The Supreme Court’s split 6-3 decision found that the Department of Justice had overreached in its use of obstruction charges against hundreds of protestors. For over three years, defendants have contended that the federal statutes used to prosecute them were overly vague, typically applying to tampering with documents or resources rather than unlawful entry into the Capitol. The majority of justices, however, specified that obstruction charges could still apply if rioters were found to have physically interfered with the delivery of Electoral College certifications.
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Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, emphasized the interpretation of the law’s text rather than delving deeply into the specifics of January 6th. He acknowledged that the Capitol breach caused Congress to evacuate and delayed the certification process, but his analysis focused on the statutory language.
Interestingly, conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett sided with liberal Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan in dissent. Barrett argued that some January 6th rioters could indeed be guilty of obstruction if their actions contributed to the deaths of Capitol police officers, despite the fact that the theory of rioters killing officers has been widely debunked. “Killing a person with the intent to prevent the production of a record in an official proceeding constitutes conduct that impairs the availability of a record for an official proceeding. Using physical force against a person to influence testimony in an official proceeding counts as impairing the integrity of ‘other things’ used in an official proceeding,” Barrett wrote.
