The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it will take up an appeal by a Jan. 6 defendant which could result in hundreds of reversed charges from the riot at the U.S. Capitol, including former President Donald Trump.
The justices will review an appeals court ruling that revived charges against three defendants accused of obstructing official proceedings. The charges refer to disrupting Congress’s certification of President Joe Biden‘s 2020 presidential victory over Trump.
SHADOW OF DOUBT: HOW 2020 ELECTION CHALLENGES IN ARIZONA AND GEORGIA ENDED
Trump himself is facing the exact same count in special counsel Jack Smith’s case, which accuses the 2024 Republican presidential primary leader of conspiring to subvert the 2020 election after his loss. Trump, like the Jan. 6 defendant, is also charged with conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding.
The Justice Department has brought the obstruction charge against more than 300 defendants in the sweeping federal prosecutions it has pursued since the violence at the Capitol in January 2021, when a riot formed at the complex out of anger and frustration during Biden’s election certification.
If the Supreme Court sides with the defendant and discards the obstruction charge, hundreds of other Jan. 6 defendants could appeal their convictions and shave years off their sentences. Some are facing the prospect of years behind bars.
Justices are being asked to consider whether Section 1512 (c)(2) of the United States Code is the right statute under which to prosecute the defendants.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The Supreme Court ultimately agreed to take up the case involving defendant Joseph Fischer, who was given the same charge as two other defendants who petitioned the high court, Jacob Lang and Garrett Miller.
Miller has since pleaded guilty to other charges and was sentenced to 38 months in prison. Miller could still face prosecution over the obstruction charge. Fischer is from Boston and Lang is from Hudson Valley in New York.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
